Armstrong to return, ride in '09 Tour

kmart6

Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement and race in the Tour de France next year, sources close to the situation have told Velo News.

Armstrong, who will turn 37 years old this month, would race with Astana, the sources said.

The seven-time Tour de France winner will race in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France — for no salary or bonuses.

Armstrong's manager, Mark Higgins, did not answer questions.

An article about Armstrong's comeback will be published in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, Velo News said.

Armstrong reportedly will reunite with his former team manager Johan Bruyneel, who guided Armstrong and his teams Motorola and U.S. Postal Service to seven straight Tour de France titles.

Sources also told Velo News that Armstrong will post all of his internally tested blood work online to prove that he's clean.

Link

Raam

I saw that on some random forum a while back. I wonder how true it is, and if if he did, would he be a contender?

Chips Lovell

I find this very strange, if it is true. He's 37, will have been out of competition for four years by next years Tour. I can't see him winning much. Maybe he just misses racing. Would be very odd seeing him working as a domestique for Contador.

smithslist

is it April the 1st?

Morgan

Maybe Bruyneel is blackmailing him.

smithslist

is it April the 1st?

kmart6

smithslist wrote: »

is it April the 1st?

No it's double posting!

smithslist

kmart6 wrote: »

No it's double posting!

i had to ask twice.....to be sure

heres the link:
http://www.velonews.com/article/82892/sources-lance-armstrong-coming-back

E@gle.

Thesee rumours always come out from time to time, I would like to see him come back but i just dont think they are true

Funkyzeit

I think the chances of him coming back are pretty slim - In fact I'm so confident he won't come back if he does I'll do the Wicklow 200 in this outfit....shoes and all...

Raam

Funkyzeit wrote: »

I think the chances of him coming back are pretty slim - In fact I'm so confident he won't come back if he does I'll do the Wicklow 200 in this outfit....shoes and all...

Jeebus, if he does, I'll pay you not to.

Orizio

I'm sure Levi and Berto will be delighted to be Lance's new super domestiques...;)

Chips Lovell

Apparently he's meant to reveal all in an interview in Vanity Fair later on this month. By then we'll know whether Funkyzeit will be investing in a mankini.

crashoveroid

this would be interesting

Morgan

Won't be riding for Astana it seems:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6A-Qsbau4RcCI-YEdg49dlhCUEgD932QKN00

Malari

Morgan wrote: »

Won't be riding for Astana it seems:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6A-Qsbau4RcCI-YEdg49dlhCUEgD932QKN00

Oh, bang goes my theory that he was riding to force Prudhomme's hand and let Astana into the Tour!

Signal_ rabbit

I reckon if he does he'll make a tit of himself. He was the ultimate super sportsman, that's undisputed (?), but not being 'ageist' i think he is too old now and been out of the game too long.

Malari

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

I reckon if he does he'll make a tit of himself. He was the ultimate super sportsman, that's undisputed (?), but not being 'ageist' i think he is too old now and been out of the game too long.

Yep, which made me think he had an ulterior motive.

crashoveroid

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

I reckon if he does he'll make a tit of himself. He was the ultimate super sportsman, that's undisputed (?), but not being 'ageist' i think he is too old now and been out of the game too long.

It was the same about 10 years ago when he made his comeback intresting how people were saying the same thing

TinyExplosions

Maybe he's found some new, undetectable wonder drug that'll guarantee him the win, and he just wants to get even more smug

Caroline_ie

Malcolm Eliott is 47 and he still rides for team Pinarello... and he never came close what Armstrong achieved in his career.

Let him come back if he wants to.

Chips Lovell

The stuff on cyclingnews.com today makes me a little sceptical. Astana are denying it. If it were true they'd probably be saying 'no comment'. If he were doing it, you'd have to wonder what other team he'd go to. Can't see him jumping on board at Garmin-Chipotle.

dub_skav

There have been so many rumours about him doping maybe he just wants to come back and prove that he's clean and still be competitive, though not win.

Kind of like saying, well if I'm still up there at 37 and definitely clean then why couldn't I have been as good as I was and clean when I was younger.

Chips Lovell

By the way, Rebellin is 37 and is no slouch.

ROK ON

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Maybe he's found some new, undetectable wonder drug that'll guarantee him the win, and he just wants to get even more smug

You mean even newer than the wonder drugs that he was taking.:)

Signal_ rabbit

ROK ON wrote: »

You mean even newer than the wonder drugs that he was taking.:)

Ooooooooooooooo controversial!

TinyExplosions

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

Ooooooooooooooo controversial!

Any thread mentioning the man must descend into drug rumors... it's the law!

Quigs Snr

Won't happen. This all stems from him re-registering for out of competition testing which he had to do to take part in the recent leadville 100 Mountain Bike race. From there a few people added 2 + 2 and got 5. No way he would come back and taint his legacy. He wouldn't ride for anyone other than Astana and I cannot see him riding support for Contador anymore than I could see Contador riding support for him.

If anything its just a media stunt to promote something or other. Expect to see some new fundraising initiative, book, clothing line, etc... announced in the vanity fair magazine. He's just getting his name out there and reminding people he still exists, the guy knows his name is a brand and brands need to be publicised if you want them to sell, its just simple economics. He has proven very adept at this in the past.

Junior

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Won't happen. This all stems from him re-registering for out of competition testing which he had to do to take part in the recent leadville 100 Mountain Bike race. From there a few people added 2 + 2 and got 5. No way he would come back and taint his legacy. He wouldn't ride for anyone other than Astana and I cannot see him riding support for Contador anymore than I could see Contador riding support for him.

If anything its just a media stunt to promote something or other. Expect to see some new fundraising initiative, book, clothing line, etc... announced in the vanity fair magazine. He's just getting his name out there and reminding people he still exists, the guy knows his name is a brand and brands need to be publicised if you want them to sell, its just simple economics. He has proven very adept at this in the past.

So what your saying is there could be a possibilty of him lining out in Comeragh Colors next year for the league races as a lead out man for Robin ?

Quigs Snr

I wouldn't say no, I suppose Junior ! We will probably put a team in the RAS and can always use a handy rider or two, speaking of which are you still retiring from the sport or are you going to bite the bullet and come join us ?

sy

Its the oligarchs money that may be tempting him. New team, high profile rider ??? slight possibility but don't think it will happen

penexpers

I like bikesnobnyc's reaction to it

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/09/this-just-in-big-news-in-pro-cycling.html

E@gle.

Funkyzeit wrote: »

I think the chances of him coming back are pretty slim - In fact I'm so confident he won't come back if he does I'll do the Wicklow 200 in this outfit....shoes and all...

By any chance did you email this into Eurosport just there?

Chips Lovell

Looks like it might be confirmed now. Armstrong's spokesman told AP he's coming back and says he wants to win the Tour again. No team yet.

Funkyzeit

E@gle. wrote: »

By any chance did you email this into Eurosport just there?

Great spotting Eagle ! I did indeed. Was funny as Kelly was in the middle of talking about the World Championship team when Harmon prob opened it up - you could hear Kelly trying to keep in the laugh! They must be getting feck all emails as 3 I've sent in have been read out...

Funkyzeit

el tonto wrote: »

Looks like it might be confirmed now. Armstrong's spokesman told AP he's coming back and says he wants to win the Tour again. No team yet.

Front page on BBC aswell :eek:

In terms of Teams surely Garmin-Chip wouldn't be an option with their stance and Lance's 'questionable' history?

E@gle.

Funkyzeit wrote: »

Great spotting Eagle ! I did indeed. Was funny as Kelly was in the middle of talking about the World Championship team when Harmon prob opened it up - you could hear Kelly trying to keep in the laugh! They must be getting feck all emails as 3 I've sent in have been read out...

hehe but David Harmon quoted that you would were the mankini in the Sean kelly tour, so looks like your screwed cos hes coming back

rash

He's 12/1 on paddypower for TDF

only 4/1 on sportingbet.com

worth an each way bet?

Funkyzeit

E@gle. wrote: »

hehe but David Harmon quoted that you would were the mankini in the Sean kelly tour, so looks like your screwed cos hes coming back

I think Lance is trying to call my bluff...

E@gle.

rash wrote: »

He's 12/1 on paddypower for TDF

only 4/1 on sportingbet.com

worth an each way bet?

i wonder what those odds will be like tomorrow now thats its confirmed

Chips Lovell

Funkyzeit wrote: »

In terms of Teams surely Garmin-Chip wouldn't be an option with their stance and Lance's 'questionable' history?

Nor Columbia either, even if he does pine for Big George. Can't see him getting along with Riis, so CSC is out too.

Rock Racing is an obvious choice, given that it's American and Michael Ball loves stunts like this. But with a roster that includes Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santi Botero, I doubt they'd get a Tour de France invite.

Katusha want to sign a GC contender and didn't get Sastre. You'd have to wonder who else. Barloworld? Quickstep?

Chips Lovell

Funkyzeit wrote: »

I think Lance is trying to call my bluff...

You know we are going to hold you to your word, right?

E@gle.

el tonto wrote: »

Rock Racing is an obvious choice, given that it's American and Michael Ball loves stunts like this. But with a roster that includes Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santi Botero, I doubt they'd get a Tour de France invite.

I doubt he will go anywhere near Rock racing given some of their riders history


Everyone is saying Asanta but will they get a tour invite next year and what will Contador think of this.

Maybe not columbia due to fact that its basically T-mobile.

One think is for certain he will defiently be riding a Trek bike and its looking like Asanta

Funkyzeit

el tonto wrote: »

You know we are going to hold you to your word, right?

Of course - I just need the shoes...

Can't see it being Katyusha - the high profile of Armstrong might be what THEY need but could you see the Great American hero riding for 'Ruskies'?

TinyExplosions

E@gle. wrote: »

One think is for certain he will defiently be riding a Trek bike and its looking like Asanta

Pretty sure I read somewhere that Astana were dropping/being dropped by Trek...

niceonetom

i thought this was total bullshít when i first read it... i'm amazed it's true. lance didn't strike me as the punch-drunk-boxer type who always thinks he has one more victory in him. he went out on a high, and frankly, what has he got left to prove (even if he were to win the next tour those rumours will never go away)? i doubt he's short of a bob or two so it really does just sem that he can't hack retirement - even with leadville and marathons etc.

any team would be mad to turn him down in my opinion, but it surely has to be astana, doesn't it? no offence to berto but no one outside of cycling has ever heard of him so, from a purely mercenary perspective, armstrong will attract a lot of media, and sell a lot of merchandise.

@funkyzeit - in a recent european court ruling everything said on teh internetz is considered legally binding. look on the bright side though, at least you won't have people trying to hang onto your rear wheel at the next w200. *shudder

littleknown

so lance is back. dont know about you guys but the tour has certainly been a lot duller since he was out of it. just dont know if its a good decision really though. seems like a bit of a michael jordon moment. leave a great, come back and leave an alright.
says hes doing it to raise awareness for cancer. I reckon a lot of people are aware of it already but its a good gesture for sure.
win it again? i hope so, would be an unbelievable story as if it wasnt already.

Orizio

The TdF has been plenty entertaining over the last three years, for good and bad reasons.

I defintely don't want to see him comeback and dominate the sport like he did, although I think it more likely he will flat on his face. There isn't a hope in hell Astana will take him imo.

Chips Lovell

E@gle. wrote: »

Everyone is saying Asanta but will they get a tour invite next year and what will Contador think of this.

Maybe not columbia due to fact that its basically T-mobile.

One think is for certain he will defiently be riding a Trek bike and its looking like Asanta

Astana have already said he won't be riding for them.

Actually, they denied it first, but Cyclingnews now has Brunyeel saying that if he comes back it will more than likely be with them.

As for their invite, it was dependent on them keeping their nose clean. Not sure if the Gusev thing will go against them.

littleknown wrote: »

so lance is back. dont know about you guys but the tour has certainly been a lot duller since he was out of it.

I don't know about you, but I always find the Tour more interesting when I don't know who's going to win it beforehand.

Funkyzeit wrote: »

Can't see it being Katyusha - the high profile of Armstrong might be what THEY need but could you see the Great American hero riding for 'Ruskies'?

It was really a process of elimination, trying to figure who would have him. Kind of redundant now that Astana have said they may take him on.

Raam

I admire Lance's tenacity and grit, and I would love to see him back in the tour. I only started following cycle racing after he quit, so I never really got to see him in action.
I don't neccessarily like the man, having read his own books and a biography, but his drive sure as hell impresses me.
I don't think his winning the tour will be as much of a fore-gone conclusion as it may have been in the past and it certainly adds a very intriguing dimension to next years tour.

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

I admire Lance's tenacity and grit, and I would love to see him back in the tour. I only started following cycle racing after he quit, so I never really got to see him in action.
I don't neccessarily like the man, having read his own books and a biography, but his drive sure as hell impresses me.
I don't think his winning the tour will be as much of a fore-gone conclusion as it may have been in the past and it certainly adds a very intriguing dimension to next years tour.

+1 -pretty much all you said applies to me too!