In a study published in the June, 2005 edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Dr. Edward Coyle of U. of Texas (Austin) revealed the secret to Lance Armstrong's remarkable performance in the gruelling endurance sport of competitive cycling.
Desire. Motivation. Willpower.
According to Coyle, Armstrong performs at an advanced level because he out-trains his competitors, and because his will to win enables him to summon energy and strength when others are flagging. That, coupled with skilled tacticians such as Johan Bruyneel at the helm of his team (formerly US Postal Service, now Discovery Channel), Armstrong was able to turn back serious challenges in each of the six Tours that he won from competitors such as Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden, Joseba Beloki, Ivan Basso, and others.
The Coyle study is also important because it is longitudinal. It tracked Armstrong across a number of years, gathering measures of key variables such as weight, body fat composition, and workout regime.
Coyle claims that the study disproves Armstrong is genetically advantaged in a way that marks him as an outlier. It also rebuffs the claim that Armstrong's cancer changed his physiology in ways that other riders could not mimic.
However, it did reveal a consistent and apparently decisive pattern of action: Armstrong diets quite aggressively prior to each Tour de France. He usually loses some seven per cent of his body mass (mostly fat), which leads to an 18 per cent increase in power per kilogram output and an eight per cent increase in muscle efficiency.
Hence, Armstrong's vaunted climbing prowess is more of a function of normal human biomechanics rather than of a freak physiological adaptation, or, as some have claimed, drug use -- EPO in particular, to boost red blood cell count. While his prowess in the mountains, reminiscent of classic climbers such as Gaul, Van Impe, Herrera, or Pantani, has aroused suspicion most probably born of envy, according to Coyle, Armstrong's skill is due to hard work, not drugs.
Couple an unusual strength on climbs and TTs, with a seemingly boundless will to win, a strategy of using Classic Races such as the Dauphiné Libéré as warm-ups to le Tour, a focused and specialized team, and superior team management -- Armstrong's record can be considered as a product of choices that other riders and their teams didn't make.
Thanks to Albert Herring for a key insight that improved (hopefully) this node.