Lance Armstrong to come out of retirement?

[Andy Velebil]

There is lots of rumors that Lance may come out of retirement to ride in several races next year, Tour of California, Tour of Georgia, Paris-Nice, Tour de France, and Dauphiné Libéré. Looks like he has already signed back up for out of competition drug testing with WADA, which must be done at least 6 months before competing...and this would put it just before the start of the T.d. California. SIgning up for WADA testing is no small chore...they have to have your daily schedule for everyday of the week/month...a royal PITA! Here's my take on it...

While i could see him do this, i think his possible comeback has more to do with making sure that the Tour organizers don't exclude Astana again from the TDF again. Could you imagine the backlash that would be caused if they prevented a 7 time champ from racing in the race again! I think not. ASO can be stupid and stubborn, but that would be suicide from a marketing standpoint.

And giving a boost to american racing would be great, but it seems due to the economy many companies are already cutting back and the first thing that goes is the $$ to cycling...just like what happened in the early 90's when the sponsorship money in cycling dried up. So I don't see him making that huge of an impact for a major race such as Georga...which has lots of debt from the prior races still outstanding and probably won't happen in '09.

It will be interesting to see.

[Glenn E.]

It has now been confirmed.

I'm not sure what to think. I do think that Lance was an exceptional enough individual that he could break through the barrier most riders hit at age 34 (he will be 37), but as much as I'd like to believe that he can actually win it all I don't think that's a real possibility.

I think he is too competitive to work for someone else, so he's going to have to find a team that doesn't already have a GC contender... which probably means a bad team. (If they're good, then they already have a clear leader and GC contender.)

In theory he could ride for the polka dot jersey, but the problem with that is that other teams probably won't give him that much leeway. The GC contenders are typically also near the top of the KotM competition and vice-versa, at least for a while. Do you think anyone is going to let Lance compete for King of the Mountains freely - which would then in turn put him in position to strike for the GC title as well? Doubtful. He's too good to be given that much room to work.

At the very least it will make for a great story. But I just don't see a way for this to turn out well for Lance.

[Derek T.]

I'm not sure what to think. I do think that Lance was an exceptional enough individual that he could break through the barrier most riders hit at age 34 (he will be 37).

It makes me think that at the tender age of 43 I should perhaps set my sights on the 2012 Olympic 1500m Pursuit?

[Andy Velebil]

Glenn spot on, I couldn't agree more. I think its a mistake for him to try and win the tour again. If he wants to come back, race, have some fun, and raise cancer awareness, go for it. But I think he is setting himself up for failure in trying to win the Tour at his age. If he doesn't suceed, people will talk about his "comeback failure" for the rest of time and that would overshadow his record wins. My message to Lance, you've already proven yourself..enjoy your retirement.

[Todd Pettinger]

If he doesn't suceed, people will talk about his "comeback failure" for the rest of time and that would overshadow his record wins.

Lance Armstrong is probably too competitive and has too much ego to just compete for the hell of it. He is in it to win it.

Contador - small potatoes compared to Lance. Leifheimer - never stood a chance to win anyway, so its not like he is a true GC contender. Plus with Bruyneel, his ex-boss, who loved him, come on. If Lance comes back it is ONLY to lead the team, a la the old days of USPS and Discovery. Next major cycling announcement prediction: Contador to leave Astana. You heard it here first folks! If he stays, he takes on the role of domestique to Armstrong. There has only EVER been ONE on a team that Lance has been a part of. It is not going to change.

Plus, Lance is NOT going to come back to the suspicion and doubt that he left cycling in. You can rest assured, some French labs are already setting up their tests for cevery possible known performance enhancing drug ever created by man. EPO, EPO Generation 3 (Micera, etc.), XXX (Some drug we have yet to learn about) - they will triple test him and test him again. He will be prepared. Nothing the French would love more than to oust the 7-time winner (an American may I add???) and disgrace him with a positive EPO test (or whatever designer drug is pretending as "undetectable" at the moment.) They have been fanatic about their dope-testing in past years. Excluding a team that simply has the same name of a sponsor as a team that had past troubles (new mgmt, new riders, notwithstanding?) Everybody knows that ASO is retarded and doesn't care a lick about professional cycling and what is good for the sport - they simply want what is good for FRENCH cycling... and busting these clowns from other countries that are stupid enough to take the drugs before or during the TdF (Basso, Ulrich, Landis, Ricco, etc.) is the only way they can "take back their race."

To Andy's point about Armstrong returning to try to ensure that ASO would include Astana in the race next year: dude, I doubt very much that ASO cares one way or the other. In fact, I would hazard a guess that ASO doesn't give a rip whether the international cycling community (or the people like you and I that love it) watches, attends, sponsors or otherwise gives a crap about le Tour. They will hold the Tour whether there is top-level talent or not. Whether the international community embraces the race or shuns. They would hold the race even if it was simply 20 all-French teams with sponsors like "Monsieur Gusteau's Corner Bistro" and no real cash in the deal. Why? They believe their race is epic. They believe their race transcends international talent and they don't care one way or the other. They could care less whether the int'l community embraces the race or not... they would hold the race with the firm belief that if they built it, the people would come... and you know what? For a couple of years they might be right. After 2 or 3 years, with falling ratings (or no ratings), no interest from the international communities and companies that invest in it, and no major sponsors, they might well do irreparable harm to the race. But they would hold it until it was all but dead.

Just this guy's (jaded) two cents

[Moses Botbol]

I do not think Contador should take a back seat if Lance races for Astana next season. Contador is someone who can win the TdF as good as Lance can.

I would like to Lance win some Classics and go for an hour record attempt. How about the Giro?

[Glenn E.]

They have been fanatic about their dope-testing in past years.

If by "fastastic" you mean "sloppy with their methods but willing to do anything to prove that a non-Frenchman is using drugs whether or not it is true" then I agree.

I don't trust anything that comes out of Malabray. They've proven over and over that their methods are unreliable, their employees can't be trusted, and that their results aren't scientifically sound. Nothing that lab produces is proof... it is at best a suggestion of a possible result.

How can the WADA seriously expect athletes to be precise about EVERYTHING they eat and drink when the labs that WADA uses don't maintain the same level of precision? It's a farce..