Chris Carmichael: Coaching a champion

     Chris Carmichael - Lance Armstrong's personal coach for nearly 20 years - is currently over in Europe helping Armstrong try to win his eighth Tour de France. The 1999 United States Olympic Committee Coach of the Year was a member of the 1984 Olympic cycling team and is the founder and CEO of Carmichael Training Systems, which has its corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. Team USA had the chance to talk with Carmichael via e-mail about Armstrong's progress at the Tour and the relationship he has with his coach. The 21-stage race concludes in Paris on Sunday.

Click HERE for photos of Lance Armstrong at the 2009 Tour de France

Team USA: How long have you been coaching Lance for?

Chris Carmichael: I started working with Lance in 1990, when he was a member of the US National Cycling Team. I was a development coach for US Cycling back then, having just retired from professional cycling the year before. There were some other great US riders in that group with Lance, including George Hincapie - who is riding his 14th Tour de France right now, along with Bobby Julich, Freddy Rodriguez and Chan McCrae, who all went on to ride the Tour de France and have long careers as pro cyclists.

Team USA: How are things going for you and Lance at the Tour up to this point? Do things seem similar to years past?

CC: Some things are the same, but a lot of things are different. Lance is in great shape, but he's not the same dominating force he was during the years from 1999 through 2005. You have to remember that 12 months ago he was riding a handful of two-three hour rides a week and had been retired for three years. At just 12 months, this comeback is actually shorter than his original comeback from cancer, which took more than a year from the time he started training until the start of the 1999 Tour de France. So, I'm very happy with how he's performing at the Tour de France this year, and he's decided to race again in 2010. He will be nearly 39 years old next July, but I think he may ride even better than he is this year.

Team USA: How did you first connect with Lance and why did you choose to become his coach?

CC: Originally we were brought together through the US National Team, and he was one of several athletes I was working with. We developed a relationship that worked well and later on, after he became a professional, we just continued to work together.

Team USA: How did the focus of your coaching change after Lance was diagnosed with cancer?

CC: When Lance initially returned to training, I put him on a program that was lighter than before cancer, but followed the same basic structure. It turned out to be too difficult because Lance was not able to handle the intensity of the efforts. That was the catalyst for me to change my coaching methodology. I started using more sub-lactate threshold interval workouts (instead of a lot of very hard, maximal efforts). And what we found was that by using slightly easier intervals, Lance could handle greater volume at those intensities. He was able to make greater progress, more rapid progress, than we expected. About the same time, I started coaching more everyday cyclists and the focus on sub-threshold intervals worked remarkably well for them as well.

Team USA: What difficulties did you have to overcome at that point as a coach?

CC: The biggest difficulties involved survivorship issues for Lance. At the time, he was struggling to figure out exactly what he wanted to do. He had just survived a disease that was supposed to kill him, so we spent a lot of time talking about his goals, his ambitions. He had to realize that he loved cycling and wanted to continue racing, as opposed to doing it because it was his job. There are easier ways to make a living, and it took a while for him to come to terms with exactly what was motivating him to train and compete.

Team USA: What separates Lance from other athletes you've worked with?

CC: I'd have to say it's his attention to detail. He is very intelligent and pays close attention to every aspect of his training, equipment, nutrition and recovery. Other athletes sometimes take their talent and physical gifts a bit for granted. They train hard, but they let a few things slide, they don't watch their diets as much as they could, they don't recover as well as they could, etc. Those things make a big difference in terms of reaching your full potential.

Team USA: At the end of every day of the Tour, where is Lance's head at?

CC: Lance remains focused during and between the stages. He is relaxed, but still focused on hydration, nutrition, getting a massage, plenty of sleep, etc. Lance knows that his performance in the following day of the race is heavily influenced by what he does immediately after the current one.

Team USA: Are you currently working with any cyclists in Colorado Springs who might be the next big thing?

CC: No one in Colorado Springs, but there are always young cyclists coming up who look to have the qualities necessary to become champions. Though I don't work with him, one young athlete people should watch is Taylor Phinney. He's still just a kid, but he's already won World Championships, and recently the Under-23 version of the Paris-Roubaix race. I think he has a bright future as an athlete, whether that includes the Tour de France, one-day Classics or track events.

Tags: 2009 Tour de France, Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong , Tour de France, USA Cycling, USOC