Lance Armstrong has announced that he intends to make a comeback to procycling and would like to win one more Tour de France. At 37, he still has the physical capacity. (Raymond Poulidor came second aged 40 in the 1970s) However, it would also be interesting to see how he copes after 3 seasons off the bike. I’m sure he would struggle to dominate like he did during his 7 victories.
If Lance did return to the tour it would certainly make an interesting race. Whatever your opinion of the confident Texan, you can’t deny he is still the biggest name in world cycling.
Apparently he has signed up for out of competition drugs testing.
Lance Armstrong’s Motivation for Making a Comeback
On his website, Lance Armstrong says:
“…I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden,”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lance Armstrong said:
“I’m going back to professional cycling. I’m going to try and win an eighth Tour de France.”
Lance hinted he was inspired by seeing some of the older athletes, such as 41-year-old American swimmer Dara Torres do well at the Olympics.
He would also like to clear his name regarding doping allegations. He is aware that doping tests have become more stringent in the past 3 years. Since Lance’s departure, there have been a long line of high profile cyclists implicated in doping – often these were Lance’s main competitors – Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Rasmusen, Flloyd Landis, Vinokourov (see: doping scandals in cycling)
- Lance Armstrong Biography
- Procycling
- Lance to make a comeback? at BBC
Photo: Lance Armstrong on virage 5 of the climb to l’Alpe d’Huez, during stage 10 of the 2001 Tour de France. Public domain
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