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Just over a month ago, the legendary Lance Armstrong announced that he would be returning to competitive action and once again try to win the Tour de France in 2009.
Upon hearing this news, many treated it with a dose of apprehension. And it is easy to see why.
Firstly, Armstrong has very little left to prove to the cycling world. After all, who else can boast winning seven Tour de France titles? Nobody can.
Furthermore, he won his seven Yellow Jersey’s consecutively.
While I believe that if you’re good enough, you’re young enough, Armstrong may well be pushing this theory to its limit.
Now at the age of 37, Armstrong attempts to add to his legacy.
But his biggest worry should be his competition, not his age.
Long gone are the days when all Armstrong would have to worry about was the surge by a German adversary by the name of Jan Ullrich. Today’s list of competitors has a far more frightening look about it.
Young upstarts like Damiano Cunego, Andy Schleck and Riccardo Ricco are all approaching the peaks of their careers.
So, put the age of the man to one side for a moment. You still have the problem of having to face better quality opposition, but forget that momentarily, as well.
Remove those two factors and you are left with one thing floating in your head: what does Lance Armstrong have left prove?
This week we finally have our answer to this question.
The Giro d’Italia, which is without a doubt the second most prestigious bike race in the world (though some Spaniards may beg to differ).
Now it is all beginning to become clear. Armstrong claims that he will ride in the Giro next year, as well as the Tour de France.
While it is great to see Armstrong committing himself to both the Giro and the Tour, one has to imagine that he will struggle to win both in the same year.
It is well known that Armstrong very rarely raced events going into the Tour de France back in his prime.
However, his plans to race the two most grueling races in the world within the space of three months without having competed in three years may be a step too far.
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