Lance Armstrong come back

[Alf Tupper]

I see it is being reported that Lance Armstrong is to come out of retirement to compete at the 2009 Tour de France. According to VeloNews, Armstrong will compete in the Amgen Tour of California, the Paris-Nice, the Tour of Georgia and the Dauphine-Libere, in addition to Le Tour and that he will ride for Astana.

 

According to Reuters and AP, Astana say he is not joining them. In fact I've heard rumours that Sastre is leaving CSC Saxo Bank at the end of this season and that Astana may be calling although with Contador, Leipheimer and Kloden on their books I can't see room for Sastre.

 

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed Armstrong is part of its out-of-competition testing pool and would be eligible for elite competition on Feb. 1, 2009. The Amgen Tour of California begins Feb. 14.

 

It would throw the cat among the pigeons. I was looking forward to an Andy Schleck/Cadel Evans/Alberto Contador contest next year (along perhaps with Valverde).

 

So if it is true, a Lance come back - good thing or bad, and which team should he go to.

[Ponty]

Blimey, he's got balls.

[swannymere]

so if it is true, a lance come back - good thing or bad, and which team should he go to.

 

pdm

[bridge too far]

Blimey, he's got balls.

 

But I think they're well protected

[dubai_phil]

On his last trip to France, as part of their obsession with him he was arrested in his Paris Hotel room for being in possession of illegal substances banned in France

 

Shampoo, Soap and Deodorant

 

 

Old one but still one of the best

[Alf Tupper]

So it’s true. Lance has decided it is time to return. "I'm going to try and win an eighth Tour de France,” he told Vanity Fair magazine according to AP.

AP go on to say that “Armstrong's close friend and longtime team director, Johan Bruyneel, now with team Astana, sent a text message to the AP declining comment.

“But there are no guarantees Astana will race the 2009 Tour. Race officials kept the team out this year because of previous doping violations. Tour director Christian Prudhomme did not return messages seeking comment on Armstrong's decision.”

[Saint Martini]

There's always been dope rumours around him and they think that with the biopassports they have today he wants to prove that he can compete at the level he did before without taking drugs (and thus prove he didn't use them before either). In my opinion it a real shame though, the US Postal/Discovery team tactics killed cycling and I expect that whatever team he'll ride for will do the same next year.

[Huffton]

the US Postal/Discovery team tactics killed cycling and I expect that whatever team he'll ride for will do the same next year.

 

How exactly? USPS/Discovery rode as a single unit with one objective - get Lance to the bottom of the big climbs in one piece and give his rivals as much pain as possible in doing so. Surely thats sound tactics for winning big tours?:confused:

[swannymere]

How exactly? USPS/Discovery rode as a single unit with one objective - get Lance to the bottom of the big climbs in one piece and give his rivals as much pain as possible in doing so. Surely thats sound tactics for winning big tours?:confused:

 

But in doing so he had no meaningful competition, supreme athlete but sadly lacking in style. Greg LeMond for all his whining was a better cyclist and had decent opposition.

[Saint Martini]

How exactly? USPS/Discovery rode as a single unit with one objective - get Lance to the bottom of the big climbs in one piece and give his rivals as much pain as possible in doing so. Surely thats sound tactics for winning big tours?:confused:

 

By signing his biggest rivals on his team (Heras for instance) and only letting people he likes win stages. The last two years have been way more exiting in the mountain stages. This doesn't mean I don't respect his achievements but cycling has been a lot more interesting in the last two years.