By Roger Vaughan
September 25th 2008 @ 6:37am
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Lance Armstrong returning to racing in Adelaide
Cycling superstar Lance Armstrong will make one of the biggest comebacks in sporting history in Adelaide next year when he contests the Tour Down Under.
The seven-times Tour de France winner has confirmed he would race in the annual event in the South Australian capital, ending a retirement from professional ranks he announced in 2005.
The cancer survivor’s presence in the Tour Down Under has been touted the biggest sporting event in SA’s history and is expected to double revenue from the race.
“This guy is bigger than cycling in terms of what he has done,” Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur said.
“In terms of athletes, he’s a superstar of sport throughout the world.
“This is, to me, the biggest thing that has happened in sport in South Australia … he will have a massive pulling power.”
SA Premier Mike Rann expects Armstrong’s participation to attract as many visitors to the state as were attracted to Melbourne to watch the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Some 15,000 people visited Adelaide to watch last January’s Tour, and premier predicted that number would double because of Armstrong’s inclusion.
Mr Rann also expected the Texan’s presence to double the $17 million economic benefit provided to the state by the last Tour.
“This will be the biggest sporting event in South Australian history,” Mr Rann said.
“This is a big global event.
“What Lance wants to do is to use his comeback to really globalise his campaign to raise awareness and also raise funding for research into cancer prevention and cancer treatment.
“We will be very willing partners in that.”
Armstrong recently competed in two long-distance mountain bike races in the United States in preparing for a professional comeback aimed at winning an unprecedented eighth Tour de France.
“This is just a great way for him to start his preparation,” Turtur said.
“He’s going to get 15 or 20 days of good quality work on his bike and that is exactly what he is after.
“There is enough in this race in terms of difficulty to really be right up his alley.”
Armstrong survived testicular cancer in 1996 and won seven consecutive Tour de France events from 1999.
He announced his retirement from professional cycling after his final win in July 2005.
Armstrong competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning bronze in the individual road time trial.
He also had several Australians as team-mates during his professional career, including former Tour Down Under winner Patrick Jonker and highly-respected domestique Matt White.
Tour Down Under organisers had tried for several years to bring Armstrong to the race, either as a competitor or as a special guest.
While Armstrong’s entry means international interest in the race will skyrocket, many details of his comeback still remain sketchy.
He is scheduled to reveal more information later on Wednesday, at noon New York time.
Armstrong currently does not even have a confirmed professional team.
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The Substitute said | September 25th 2008 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
Geez, well done to Adelaide… scoring Lance Armstrong and a Champions League semi final spot in the same day!
Lucky thing Melbourne got those F1 rights tucked away…
Michael C said | September 25th 2008 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
good promotion for Australia, every interview with him is getting the whole ’starting his season in Australia and culminating in France’.
The Substitute:
This is a bigger story than Adelaide Utd playing some club side in Uzbekistan……by a long, long way……….ask the Americans, or Europeans what story made the back page and news today!! Ade Utd would be lucky to be a single line item 10 pages in from the back.
The Substitute said | September 25th 2008 @ 12:59pm | Report comment
Michael C,
True… but being on the back page in Japan can’t hurt either.
cosmos forever said | September 25th 2008 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
Good luck to Adelaide and Armstrong. Bad luck to Contador, Lepheimer and the new generation of clean(er) cyclists who deserve their time without an egomaniac trying to steal all of their limelight.
Three races in a season - it’s that approach that always made true cycling fans (who follow the entire season) degrade Armstrong’s previous results despite him doing so well in the Tour.
Dave said | September 25th 2008 @ 1:17pm | Report comment
MC
Trying to take some gloss off AUs win in the ACL last night? I remember posts in the past where you were deriding this whole ACL adventure for the HAL clubs…well sold out stadium last night, headlines in SA newspapers, no doubt sold out stadium again next time, millions watching in Asia and around the world on TV…mmmm this ACL caper looks like it could be a real goer MC…despite your ealier misgivings.
BTW Still seems to be a lot of debate re Lance A and his cycling career so no doubt SA will get plenty of publicity. Wont be any more than if AU do the impossible and become champions of Asia.
The Cougar said | September 25th 2008 @ 2:03pm | Report comment
Yeah, great result. Australia have done well to drag nearly every sports “superstar” Down Under at some stage.
Tiger Woods: tick, Roger Federer: tick, David Beckham: tick, Muhammad Ali: tick (admittedly not to compete… was he here just for the Logies, or was he here during the Sydney Olympics?!?!? Or am I getting confused with Atlanta?!?!?).
Any more I’m missing? Maradona been to Oz? Beckanbauer? Who else?
cosmos forever said | September 25th 2008 @ 2:10pm | Report comment
Cougar - you forgot the list of “got down here just a bit too late”
George Best, Romario…
Ali playing it tough with Bert Newton who had inadvertantly (perhaps) insulted his heritage is a moment of television gold!
Michael C said | September 25th 2008 @ 2:44pm | Report comment
Dave -
ah, ya know I was just ribbing…………although, I do wonder how many folk in Japan interrupted their mid week schedule to watch some team from Adelaide vs who ever they were playing in preparation to play some team from Uzbekistan……………….so………….a ‘potential audience’ of millions in Asia…………….remember, 42% of the worlds population don’t have access to a toilet, not sure what the figures are for access to a TV carrying that particular massive international sporting event.
Do you want to do us a favour, actually track down some ratings figures for the Australian sides in some Asian nations…………or…………do can we agree that the potential audience for Ade Utd in Asia might be on a par with the potential audience for the AFL Grand Final perhaps? (nah, you’ll argue that without substance ’til you’re blue in the face!!! )
cosmos forever said | September 25th 2008 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
obsession with television ratings as an indication of the importance of a sporting event is wearing a bit
True Tah said | September 25th 2008 @ 3:02pm | Report comment
MC,
In a few years, Adelaide is going to be a mecca for Uzbekistani tourists following the 2008 ACL.
You heard it here first.
Dave said | September 25th 2008 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
MC
Changed your mind on the ACL yet? From SA Govt read below;
News Article
New partnership kicking goals for SA
South Australia – and its tourism website through an innovative marketing campaign – will go on show to millions of international soccer fans, under a partnership announced today.
In a boost for the profile of the State in the Asian market, the South Australian Tourism Commission and the Department of Trade and Economic Development have joined forces to jointly sponsor the State’s very own Adelaide United soccer team when it competes in the Asian Champions League.
Under the arrangement, the website address “southaustralia.com” will appear on all Adelaide United players’ jerseys during their away Asian Champions League matches, which are broadcast to millions of television viewers in countries including China, Korea, the Middle East, Japan and Malaysia.
Announcing the sponsorship today, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing Michael Wright said this was an ideal and unique opportunity to raise tourism and business awareness of South Australia in the important Asian market.
“The Asian Champions League is the region’s premier club competition, pitting 29 clubs from 14 countries against each other for a place in the FIFA Club World Championships,” Minister Wright said.
“This is the first year Australian teams have qualified and been permitted to be a part of this prestigious competition, and the State Government’s sponsorship of Adelaide United is a brilliant way to showcase South Australia in Asia.
“The television coverage of Asian Champions League matches is phenomenal, with more than 130 million soccer fans tuning in to watch more than 1000 hours of broadcast games each year.
“The State Government has undertaken this initiative to capture the attention of many of those viewers who will not only see our Adelaide players in action, but will also see “southaustralia.com” on players’ jerseys –pointing them to the website where they can discover more about our State as a tourism and business destination.
“Not only are we marketing South Australia as a fabulous tourism destination, but we are telling Asia and the rest of the world about South Australia’s booming economy, competitive business costs, skilled and productive workforce, and enviable quality of life,” said Mr Wright.
“Adelaide United is thrilled that the South Australian Government can see the value of partnering with us as we begin this amazing journey into the lucrative Asian supporters market,” said Michael Petrillo, Chief Executive Officer, Adelaide United.
Media contact:
Public Relations Unit,
telephone +61 8 8463 4500
or email satc.pr.publications@saugov.sa.gov.au ”
Cosmos Forever
The importance of any event is a very individual matter however in the professional sporting scene TV ratings counts as probably the most important factor.
Michael C said | September 25th 2008 @ 5:00pm | Report comment
Dave -
yep, that rocked my sox……
did it really rock yours? or are you just slightly over hyping yourself…………..need a brown paper bag per chance?
Nah, in all seriousness, good on ‘em and anything that helps attract people to SA is worth a try - - they’d be fools not to - - I love parts of SA………….like Victor Harbour and the Maslins Beach………
jimbo said | September 25th 2008 @ 5:31pm | Report comment
A great shot in the arm for Australian cycling and will give SA and the Tour Down Under great world wide publicity.
Lance is a controversial character and I hope he doesn’t give himself a shot in the arm or two before he comes here.
Dave,
couple of mistakes there from the SA minister - the official title from FIFA includes the words “football competition” not “soccer competition”,
this is not the first year an Australian team has qualified for the ACL.
You can’t expect band waggoners to get the facts right when they know very little about the sport.
MC
funny how all sports - except AFL and the AFL International Cup - are “over hyped”.
I haven’t seen the ratings for the AU game yet, but the TV audience for the Urawa v SFC game was 130 million (compared to about 3 million for an AFL or NRL GF).
This is a record live TV audience for a football match played in Australia that will probably never be beaten by any of the other football codes.