Paging Mizzou: Lance Armstrong to come back?

Why oh why would he do this? The odds this ends well are slim.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26609987/

 

As a favor to Johan Bruyneel, the former USPS team manager who now runs Astana.

With all the doping suspensions, Armstrong probably sees the field as being weak enough to make a good showing. Or he might be willing to work as a domestique but help secure a major sponsorship for the team.

 

I think George Carlin said it best at the beginning of his last HBO special.

 

I imagine Armstrong's sponsors didn't try and persuade him away from doing this. The TDF field has been gutted in the last few years. Plus, the Tour de California has actually helped boost the sport.

 

Horrible legacy move, but I'm still pumped about it. I think his return is what the sport needs. All the whispers about his doping were just that, whispers, while probably half the contenders have been caught since.

 

Ding and ding.

Armstrong has a sizeable interest in Trek bicycles. Trek's sales are lagging since he quit raciing. Levi Leipheimer is the poster boy for Trek now and Leipheimer has the personality of a tire pump.

Lance will still be a top draw and there will be a rush of sponsors trying to hop on his train.

He won't contend for a TdF title, but he will make millions for himself, for Trek and for those on his team -- not to mention those in the races he competes in.

 

Bruyneel says "Comeback? What comeback?"

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/sep08/sep09news

 

IIRC, he raced in a one-day event in Colorado and fared pretty well.

Understanding that this is more of a commitment, it's not like he hadn't touched a bike since his last ride in Paris.

 

Yes, he finished second in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.

 

I think this would be a mistake. Winning the Tour at 37 would be next to impossible, especially having been out of competition that long. He really has nothing to gain and everything to lose. If he doesn't win, then everyone will say "see, we told you he was doping." The French will hound him at every turn. If he puts too much salt on his supper, they'll bust him.

If he wanted to come back as a favor to Trek or whatever and race the domestic races (California, Georgia, Missouri) that would be cool.

There's no way he races the Tour in support of Contador or anyone else. The other races yeah. Tour, no way.

 

Didn't he race the Tour de Georgia as a tuneup for his last TdF? I know he ususally shied away from other races, but I think he was doing a warm up at the end of his career. Just saying there is precedent for him doing a domestic.

 

Not sure he realizes how much the drug testing and EPO detection has improved in the last two years. Bad, bad move from a legacy standpoint.