The rhetoric on this subject has been thick and fast from prawns like Greg Lemond (twisted, bitter ex-brilliant rider), to Alberto Contodor and of course Joe Public. But I think almost all have missed the point, namely the man wants to race (it should not matter his motivation - cancer awareness, legacy, anti-doping etc) and if he is good enough than so be it. It is a little like those who questioned Jordon suiting up for the Wizards! I don't think MJ gave a toss what everyone thought, he just wanted to smell the pine, shoot some hoops and maybe win a game or two for old times sake.

At the end of the day Lance wants to ride his bike, maybe he will win the Le Tour, maybe he won't, (but I suspect he won't be showing up just to make-up the numbers). I agree with your sentiments Contodor v Armstrong would be very cool, but who knows we might see Lance actually domestiquing for Alberto (small chance but its out there).

Bottom line, if someone is good enough and motivated enough to step up to the plate, no matter one's age, legacy, reasons, then leave them to it...more power to the people!

The rhetoric on this subject has been thick and fast from prawns like Greg Lemond (twisted, bitter ex-brilliant rider), to Alberto Contodor and of course Joe Public. But I think almost all have missed the point, namely the man wants to race (it should not matter his motivation - cancer awareness, legacy, anti-doping etc) and if he is good enough than so be it. It is a little like those who questioned Jordon suiting up for the Wizards! I don't think MJ gave a toss what everyone thought, he just wanted to smell the pine, shoot some hoops and maybe win a game or two for old times sake.

At the end of the day Lance wants to ride his bike, maybe he will win the Le Tour, maybe he won't, (but I suspect he won't be showing up just to make-up the numbers). I agree with your sentiments Contodor v Armstrong would be very cool, but who knows we might see Lance actually domestiquing for Alberto (small chance but its out there).

Bottom line, if someone is good enough and motivated enough to step up to the plate, no matter one's age, legacy, reasons, then leave them to it...more power to the people!

Sorry for the multiple pings - trigger finger got a bit twitchy. Any idea on how I can delete my posts?

I agreed with you guys, do not take me wrong...I am all for his comeback, again as I said, I really admire and respect him as an athlete.
I am with you Hawaii50 in the matter that Greg Lemond might be a bit bitter after all this years. I personally do not think that Armstrong comeback is a nightmare. I don´t see why.
It really hurts to see the beautiful sport of road cycling so tainted by doping scandals, and a comeback by a guy, either like it or not, that brings so much media attention and excitment to the sport is a very good thing.
I really hope to see a clash between Contador and Armstrong....sport wise of course.
Now....if he goes back to his roots and try Triathlons...wow! that would be something really cool to see.

I cant wait to see that sexy man cycling again! The tour is just not to me worth watching
w/out him. I am tired of seeing him bouncing from one womans bed to the next what a slut!
Its time to settle down Lance!

I think its great that Lance is doing what he loves and the fact that it keeps attention on his cause, but for me, I like to remember athletes for what they were. My concern is that he will not be the "same" Lance that we saw back in the day and it will somewhat taint that legacy if he doesn't pull it off.

I'm trying to remember and athlete - a truly great athlete - that has been able to pull off the feat of "un-retiring" and the only one I can think of is Dave Scott. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see Lance pull it off, but I don't think the odds are in his favor.

Lance's comeback has already generated huge interest in pro cycling. If his goal is truly to spread the Livestrong fundraising worldwide then more power to him. Time will tell how good he will be. My guess is that he is going to be focused on winning one classic and of course the Tour. The other races will be dress rehearsals.

Now what about Contador?

Lance is 37. "Connie" is only 25. If LA's comeback works, I'm thinking for two seasons...Connie is already showing some huge chops....THREE grand Tours in 14 months, something LA NEVER did.
Lance will go away,again, and Connie will still be there. Being on the same team? Yikes! Interesting to see if Connie will step aside to let LA by or put up a fight with Brunyeel over the top spot.

If he does anything less than win, it will tarnish his legacy and give more fuel to those who believe he was a doper.

And at his age, with the time off from pro cycling, I think there's reason to doubt his ability to ride into Paris in yellow...

Personally, I think he doped all along, just like everyone he was competing against. He could have beat them clean if they'd been clean, but they weren't... and now he's past it, so beating the young guys in a clean straight fight? Mission (probably) Impossible. And as we saw last year, some of those young guys are already going down the doper path too...

jono

I think it's good for the sport (from an american perspective) since it will get a lot of americans re-interested in cycling, even if it's for a year or so. I don't think the European fans will be all that exctied, nor will they need it to rejuvenize anything cycling related.

From the interviews I've read recaps of so far, LA's attitude seems so much different this time. I know it's early, but he doesn't seem so hardcore and driven to just win the thing...it seems like he's focused a lot more on spreading the livestrong mission and other side ventures that the exposure will bring...it will be interesting to see how he performs.
I'm sure he'll bring his all for the Tour, but I'm not certain that with his increased age, and his side ventures he'll be able to be good enough...maybe stretched too thin. I'll be excited to see how it goes though.

As for Contador, I'd like to see him go elsewhere b/c I want to see him battle lance and I don't see a team with Lance on it having 2 leaders going into France. I also wouldn't mind Levi heading elsewhere to make battle...I mean he only lost the Vuelta to AC by the time bonuses from stage wins and he was being domestique...he's also a better TTer than both AC and LA and is also American. So go Levi.

I mean next year Basso is back as well...oh the possibilities...LA, Contador, Schlek, Basso, Levi, and the list goes on...it could be great

There are rumors floating that LAF doesn't quite cut it as a non-profit... 30 cents on the dollar going for programs...stuff like that. There was a blog, Cozybeehive, (run by a bikie) that had a good article on it...but the page was taken down.(humm)
I think you can still google the page though if you type "Livestrong tax returns"

The tour has taken a beating in the last few years.
This news will certainly generate some exposure(advertising $$$) for TDF and everybody associated with it.
LiveStrong will benefit if LA wins or not.

I would like to see how it works out.
It would good for LA if he does win, and I don't think it will be too bad if he doesn't.
He has lots of excuses to fall back on.

What would hurt him is if he got caught doping. That could seriously damage his reputation.

I have an enlarged heart and a resting HR of 32. I am very active, and train quite a bit.
I am not winning a local 5k or sprint tri, let alone the TDF. ;-)

LA trains(trained) as his job, and so does everybody else on the tour.
I would like to believe he is clean, but all the problems in the sport have made me a cycnic.
Maybe he just hasn't been caught.

LA has an ego to match his talent, and that may be his undoing.
Maybe if he was clean he might be tempted to use something to give him an edge over the younger riders, or if he wasn't clean he might use something that gets detected this time.

Call me jaded

I am with you RV.
With all due respect to everybody, every athlete, I think is a bitter response say that because Pro cycling is so tainted with doping, so everybody in the sport is a doper....and LA for sure.

He wants to come clean, so his tests are public. That is a very high ethical standar.
Now if he stumbles and falls, and does not win The Tour, so be it...he tried...and on the big picture, LIVESTRONG and cancer awerness is going to be very much exposed and good thing will come out of it.

I might be naive, but I think during all his years he put hard work, the old "blood, seat and tears" so that is why he beat cancer, and the rest of the peloton for seven times.

As RV said it, maybe the guy is genetically gifted. Remember guys that he is a cancer survivor, and most of the enhancing drugs out there in the menu could be very detrimental or even catastrophic for a guy who has cancer on remision....

I didn´t mean to hurt anyone´s feelings or sound to harsh in my last comment.

The way you explained your point of view if way far from bitter...I think makes a lot of sense...but again...I think I want to be a bit naive and think the best of people. In the back of my mind I still refuse to loose one of my heroes...

You are so right about saying that this topic has been debated to the bone in so many cycling forums, and the reason is because is interesting, because most of us want to have more than one elite American rider in the Tour to cheer for....because we like this sport, and is so interesting.

This just in:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26977702/

Kind of a weird challenge....
Testing now....and he won´t face a ban or sanction if positive??????
So why all the hussle...?
Absurd....

Don't forget the bottom line with rthe 1999 "samples" - they were found to be severely mismanaged/mishandled therefore any results derived from them, positive or negative, could not be trusted (i.e. would not stand up in a court of law). This was the finding of an independent investigation which supposedly ruled a line under the whole episode in 05/06. I think Boudry's (new head of the WADA or French lab (?)) request for LA to agree to the retesting of the 99 sample were made with the best intentions - lets wipe the slate clean and get rid of these accusations once and for all, however I understand LA's reticence to do so as the results just cannot be trusted due to the aforementioned problems in managing the samples (damned if you and damned if you don't). LA knew it would be like this and decided to press anyway - hats off to the man and I hope he succeeds if for no reason than to thumb his nose at Lemond, Pound, McCaid, L'Equipe et al. Long Live Lance....

Now Frankie Schleck (one of the so-called CLEAN riders and the UCI's great white hope) is implicated with old Dr Fuentes to the tune of a $7000 bank transfer...if injustice is served cold he will suffer the same fate as Ullrich i.e. guilty by mere association not by hard evidence...now where was I?

That's right, hot off the press: LA has spurned Astana to form his very own team the "Long Live Lance" squadra, apparently he has incredible sponsorship deals lined up and has already signed some massive names who have committed to bleed for LA on the Ventoux and other beasts at the 2009 TDF in 2009. The team so far:

1. LA (team leader)
2. Jan Ullrich (34 but still the best uber domestique a kid could have & now clear to race again - bonus)
3. Floyd Landis (completes ban end of Jan 09, already training and LA knows he will want revanche)
4. Tyler Hamilton (ban completed and already training/racing - got the call from LA early)
5. George Hincapie (loves LA and ready to rock & roll for old times sake - clean as a whistle)
6. Roberto Heras (has signed, ban should be lifted in time but McQuaid wants to make life difficult - a maybe)
7. Ivan Basso (rearing to go and has been exonerated by the Italian cycling authority for talking to Dr Fuentes - loves LA as much as George)
8. Nina Kraft (a marketing dream, after riding solo for 180kms at a time NK welcomes the luxury of being able to draft and should become the first women to ride in the real TDF - so long as she does not pop another positive at Kona)
9. Norman Stadler (tired of running has committed fully to road-racing, Kona 08 will be his last triathlon, was talked into it by his big buddy Jan)
Oh and Team Directeur is Bjarne Rijs (who, totally devastated by the Schleck affair, wanted a clean start so he signed as soon as LA popped the Q - proved he is ready by executing US Postal tactics to the letter at this year's TDF)

; )

And the plot thickens some more...

I wonder if the triathlon bodies are testing for the same drug (i.e. CERA)? Hopefully they have been and the results speak for themselves.

Lance is in for Tour Down Under

... and they're re-testing the Olympic samples... can't wait to see the outcome of that! Hopefully they catch a lot of non-cyclists.

jono

Lets face it anyone who can "walk" for 50kms has gotta be on the gear, I mean for that distance that's why bikes were invented ; )

Lance to do the Giro d'Italia in May... looks like Contodor might be getting the uber domestique of all time at the Tour de France!

Lance won't be alone. Many of the "old guard" will be present including Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton, and Floyd Landis. 2009 should be a very interesting year for the pro peloton.

Matt Cazalas - Technical Writer
Network Cables