Lance Armstrong Pulling a Michael Jordan
So I guess "sources" are saying that Lance Armstrong will race in the Tour de France next year (credit to hallamigo for the scoop). Initially I'm not sure what to make of this. He turns 37 this month, the oldest person to ever win was 36 and that was back in 1922 when it was essentially not even the same race.
The rumor is that he'd race on the Astana team. Which makes sense, since that's the team of his old pal/mentor Johan Brunyeel, but Astana is also the team of Alberto Contador, the guy I blogged about just the other day who won the Tour last year, won the Giro this year and is still favored to take the Vuelta this year. I can't imagine that Armstrong thinks he can win it again, but that's almost an easier idea to swallow then the idea that he's going to be content being a helper...
Anyhow, it could make for a very interesting Tour next year. My fear is that having Armstrong on the team could lead to a situation where neither Armstrong or Contador would win. The Tour of California and the Tour of Georgia are also on the list of races (five in total) he's expected to race, so it's possible that it's as much about helping American cycling as it is about making some kind of comeback. Apparently he'll also be "post[ing] all of his internally tested blood work online, in an attempt to establish complete transparency and prove that he is a clean athlete." So that's another wrinkle. The whole thing is all a little strange.
Is it too late for me to make my comeback?
The rumor is that he'd race on the Astana team. Which makes sense, since that's the team of his old pal/mentor Johan Brunyeel, but Astana is also the team of Alberto Contador, the guy I blogged about just the other day who won the Tour last year, won the Giro this year and is still favored to take the Vuelta this year. I can't imagine that Armstrong thinks he can win it again, but that's almost an easier idea to swallow then the idea that he's going to be content being a helper...
Anyhow, it could make for a very interesting Tour next year. My fear is that having Armstrong on the team could lead to a situation where neither Armstrong or Contador would win. The Tour of California and the Tour of Georgia are also on the list of races (five in total) he's expected to race, so it's possible that it's as much about helping American cycling as it is about making some kind of comeback. Apparently he'll also be "post[ing] all of his internally tested blood work online, in an attempt to establish complete transparency and prove that he is a clean athlete." So that's another wrinkle. The whole thing is all a little strange.
Is it too late for me to make my comeback?
posted by DireKobold at 4:01 PM
3 Comments:
Interesting comparison. When you say "pulling a Michael Jordan," do you mean after his first, or his second comeback? His second was pretty mediocre, for him. Would this count as Lance's first or second comeback (e.g., coming back from cancer?)
If he does this comeback, it may be even more impressive than the cancer comeback.
You can't compare him to Michael Jordan until he makes an unsuccessful attempt at Minor League Baseball. :)
He did run a couple of marathon's and recently came in second at a big mountain bike race. Not sure if that counts or not...
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