OT: He's Back!!
It Is Official, Lance Is Back
Armstrong confirms comeback; details yet to come.
by Joe Lindsey
In a four-paragraph announcement, Lance Armstrong confirmed the rumor that he is going to end his three-year retirement and return to bike racing.
"I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling," read the statement in part. Although it had been speculated that Armstrong was returning to try to answer critics who've questioned whether he won seven Tours de France without drugs, no mention of that motive was made. Instead, said Armstrong, he's getting back on the bike "in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden." The e-mailed statement came on Livestrong/Lance Armstrong Foundation letterhead, and Armstrong referenced the recent passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, which funds cancer research, as a reason to "address cancer on a global level."
Armstrong said he would announce details at a September 24 press conference in New York City at the Clinton Global Initiative. A video statement from Armstrong to identical effect was also available here.
After rumors had circulated for weeks about a possible comeback, yesterday's story in VeloNews added crucial details that apparently made it impossible for Armstrong to ignore anymore. But while the comeback is confirmed, in what form is yet to be seen. Clues as to his plans might be found in the just-posted Vanity Fair feature on Armstrong, which details his ambitions both sporting and political (the Guv's office in 2014?). And while the press release doesn't mention anything about proving doubters wrong, the VF piece does:
Second, two words would now dominate his vocabulary: “transparency” and “authenticity.” Nobody would be able to call him a “doper” this time around, no matter how cir****tantial or bogus the evidence. Like Carlos Sastre, who won the Tour this past July, Armstrong assured me that he would do whatever it took to become a contender—random blood samples and parameter readings—to prove he was a clean rider. In fact, he said, he’d hired a video crew, which was starting to chronicle his journey to the Tour, including his tests, for a possible future documentary.
All reports so far have indicated he would join the Astana team, but the team's PR director Philippe Maertens and manager Johan Bruyneel separately denied that Armstrong would join Astana. Bruyneel expressed surprise at news of the return and said he'd not been in contact with Armstrong, but did tell VeloNews' Andrew Hood, "...if he wanted to come back, I wouldn’t say no. And I could never imagine him riding for another team. It would be here."
As if to throw water on Maertens' assertion that Armstrong would not be racing with Astana is this quote: "Johan Bruyneel, his “directeur sportif,” would run and manage his team, developing comprehensive tactics for winning the Tour." So either Lance is riding with Astana, or Bruyneel's starting a new team.
Armstrong would be eligible to return to elite road racing on February 1, just two weeks before the start of the Tour of California, but has not yet requested an international racing license.
Stay tuned - the official announcement is not for another two weeks, but speculation on Armstrong's plans will doubtless remain strong.
Performance enhancing drugs are something Team Tour de Fat doesn't have to worry about. Just a few brewskis every now and then. We may be slow but, well......we be slow.
Boner
(hmmmm....finally found a use for that bee)
