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Lance Armstrong’s ambitious comeback plans aren’t being met with sweeping enthusiasm from the cyclists he hopes to race against.
Several riders competing at the Spanish Vuelta today gave a lukewarm reception to Armstrong’s plans to return to racing in 2009 following a three-year layoff.
“Why is everybody so impressed? I’m surprised in a way that I don’t know what he’s got to win from it,” QuickStep rider Tom Boonen told The Associated Press after crossing the line behind stage winner Oscar Freire. “If somebody feels like racing just let him race. (But) I wouldn’t do it, I think.”
Earlier, Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel suggested that it was only a matter of time before the seven-time Tour de France champion signed with his team. Armstrong said he would only make a return bid under Bruyneel, whom he rode for at US Postal Service and Discovery Channel.
“He has to know by himself whether he wants to come back. But I think for his career it’s better to stay (out), to quit with it,” Silence-Lotto rider Greg van Avermaet said.
Astana team leader Alberto Contador said Armstrong’s arrival could create a rivalry within the team as it bids to return to the Tour after being banned this year for prior doping offences.
“Sure, the two of us would like to win the Tour and some kind of complication could develop, but to arrive at that point would be a race in which different factors would come into play,” said Contador, last year’s Tour champion who won this year’s Giro d’Italia. “For now, let’s not think about those.”
Another Astana rider, Levi Leipheimer, seemed soured by talk of riding with Armstrong again.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Leipheimer, who rode alongside Armstrong for one season at US Postal Service.
Armstrong’s health is another issue.
The 36-year-old cyclist has only participated in marathons and competed in one mountain biking race since retiring, leaving many questioning whether he could be fit in time.
“I don’t know his condition but I think when he trains for it he will be a bit desperate and to win will be very difficult,” Van Avermaet said.
Boonen figured that would just be added motivation for Armstrong, who beat life-threatening cancer before beginning his unprecedented Tour run.
“I think that’s what gets him going. If everything was easy for him I don’t think he would have tried. I think because it’s difficult he wants to try,” the Belgian cyclist said. “Because he always has big aims.”
Most riders and team leaders believed Armstrong’s return would be a good thing for cycling and the Tour, while others seemed inspired by it.
“He has the same age as me, so for him to do such a thing is quite a nice thing,” said 37-year-old Gerolsteiner rider Davide Rebellin. “He has always trained when he needed to and done the necessary regimes. I know him well and how he is. He’ll do all he needs to get the results.”
In the end, even Van Avarmaet was excited about the possibility of riding down the Champs d’Elysees alongside Armstrong.
“It will be the first time I could race him, so for sure,” the German rider said.
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