-----Original Message-----
From: 	Croasdale, Duncan  
Sent:	Thursday, July 05, 2001 5:02 PM
To:	Zufferli, John; Sangwine, Howard
Subject:	Inspiration for Sunday AM



Lance Armstrong
>
>
>
>
> Throughout the Tour de France, a Colombian rider on the Kelme - Costa
> Blanca Team, Santiago Botero,had been keeping a diary for the newspaper.
>  Each day the newspaper published his diary from the previous day.
>  Unfortunately, this is the only diary entry I have seen. It is worth the
> read.
> "There I am all alone with my bike. I know of only two riders ahead of me
> as I near the end of the second climb on what most riders consider the
> third worst mountain stage in the Tour. I say 'most riders' because I do
> not fear mountains. After all, our country is nothing but mountains. I
> train year-round in the mountains. I am the national champion from a
> country that is nothing but mountains. I trail only my teammate, Fernando
> Escartin, and a Swiss rider. Pantani, one of my rival climbers, and the
> Gringo Armstrong are in the Peleton about five minutes behind me. I am
> climbing on such a such a steep portion of the mountain that if I were to
> stop pedaling, I would fall backward. Even for a world class climber,
this
> is a painful and slow process. I am in my upright position pedaling at a
> steady pace willing myself to finish this climb so I can conserve my
energy
>
> for the final climb of the day. The Kelme team leader radios to me that
the
>
> Gringo has left the Peleton by himself and that they can no longer see
him.
>
> I recall thinking 'the Gringo cannot catch me by himself'.
> A short while later, I hear the gears on another bicycle. Within seconds,
> the Gringo is next to me - riding in the seated position, smiling at me.
>  He was only next to me for a few seconds and he said nothing - he only
> smiled and then proceeded up the mountain as if he were pedaling
downhill.
> For the next several minutes, I could only think of one thing - his
smile.
> His smile told me everything. I kept thinking that surely he is in as
much
> agony as me, perhaps he was standing and struggling up the mountain as I
> was and he only sat down to pass me and discourage me. He has to be
playing
>
> games with me. Not possible. The truth is that his smile said everything
> that his lips did not. His smile said to me, 'I was training while you
were
>
> sleeping, Santiago'. It also said, 'I won this tour four months ago,
while
> you were deciding what bike frame to use in the Tour.
> I
> trained harder than you did, Santiago. I don't know if I am better than
> you, but I have outworked you and right now, you cannot do anything about
> it. Enjoy your ride, Santiago. See you in Paris.'
> Obviously, the Gringo did not state any of this. But his smile did dispel
a
>
> bad rumor among the riders on the tour. The rumor that surfaced as we
began
>
> the Prologue several days ago told us that the Gringo had gotten soft.
His
> wife had given birth to his first child and he had won the most difficult
> race in the world - He had no desire to race, to win. I imagine that his
>  smile turned to laughter once he was far enough not to embarrass me. The
> Gringo has class, but he heard the rumors - he probably laughed all the
way
>
> to Paris. He is a great champion and I must train harder. I am not
content
> to be a great climber, I want to be the best.
> I learned much from the Gringo in the mountains. I will never forget the
> helpless feeling I had yesterday. If I ever become an international
> champion, I will always remember the lesson the Gringo taught me.