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Just a matter of weeks ago the cycling world was buzzing with the news that seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was making a dramatic comeback. Armstrong is one of the most famous cyclists in history and having recovered from life threatening testicular cancer in 1998 he enjoyed over seven years of success, finally retiring in 2005.
However, having enjoyed the initial limelight that his announcement brought Armstrong now faces uncertainty over when he can actually return to competitive cycling. Riders coming out of retirement need to be in the UCI’s anti-doping programme for six months before being allowed to race and if this is upheld, as it should be, he would be unable to race in January's Tour Down Under.
To make matters worse for Armstrong he also faces the possibility of playing a supporting role to his Astana team-mate Alberto Contador in next year's Tour de France. Talk about coming back down to earth with a bang!
I am one of those more sceptical over his return and this is partly because he faces the stark possibility of having to aid another in their quest for victory rather than his own. Armstrong was always a leading man, the star of the show, but if he fails to perform over the course of the 2009 season he will be in danger of tarnishing the memory he worked so hard to create.
The cycling legend is 37, hasn’t cycled at elite level for over three years and is facing numerous cyclists in the peak of their career- his own team mates Albert Contador and Levi Leipheimer to name but a few. Contador is currently the best tour cyclist in the world where as Armstrong is not only over 10 years older but also some way behind the Spaniards current level of performance. With this in mind you cannot really argue if the Astana team management decided to make Armstrong play second fiddle to the Spaniard.
However regardless of this, Armstrong’s performance and how he is utilised by Astana should not overshadow the main reason he is returning to cycling- to raise the awareness of his Live Strong cancer charity.
 | Author: | The Sports Nut (The Sports Nut's profile, The Sports Nut's blog) |
 | Posted On: | Fri, 2008-10-03 17:18 |
 | Tags: | cycling, winning and veterans |
 | Comments: | 0 comments, go to comments |
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