Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong (born September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He is most famous for recovering from testicular cancer to subsequently win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times—1999 to 2005. His success prompted some to nickname the event the "Tour de Lance."

Comeback?

In an article in the Austin-American Statesman (6 Sept 2005) Lance Armstrong claims he's thinking of a comeback to to the 2006 Tour de France "to piss the French off". Asked if he was serious about this, he answered "I'm training everyday".

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(Statesman article: The Statesman: Armstrong is engaged and contemplating a comeback)

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Cyclingnews: Lance back at Tour 2006?

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Cyclingnews: Armstrong: Will he or won't he?

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However, it has subsequently been reported that his agent, Mark Higgins, said: "Lance was just having a little fun with the French. He is retired and not coming back."

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Yet on Lance Armstrong's home page, there is a link to a short article that has him stating "While I'm absolutely enjoying my time as a retired athlete with Sheryl and the kids, the recent smear campaign out of France has awoken my competitive side. I'm not willing to put a percentage on the chances but I will no longer rule it out..."

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However, in a conference call with media on September 15, Armstrong ruled out a comeback, stating that he was too preoccupied with clearing his name of the doping allegations.

Related Topics:
September 15 - Doping

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After his retirment from cycling, Armstrong has stated "I can't promise that I won't show up at a few cyclo-cross races and a few mountiain bike races, and a few triathlons, or do a few 10k runs. I'm an athlete, I've been an athlete all my life." His cycling career may be over, but such talk has fuelled rumors that Armstrong will return to Triathlon and even that he will do the Hawaii Ironman. Some people claim that if Armstrong and his children lived in France then he would not have retired from cycling. So, preparing for a big one day race in Hawaii might be more of a reality for Armstrong if he wants to spend more time with his kids and a bit less time training.

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