Lance Armstrong makes comeback, will ride the tour '09!!!

avanti

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Holy shit, did not see this coming! :woot:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2008/09/08/icu-cycling-armstrong.html

Cycling legend Lance Armstrong reportedly will come out of retirement to compete in five road races, including the 2009 Tour de France.

VeloNews reported Monday that Armstrong will race in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris Nice Cycling Race, Tour de Georgia, Crit?rium du Dauphin? Lib?r? and the storied Tour de France, which he won a record seven consecutive times from 1999-2005.

Armstrong, who turns 37 on Sept. 18, retired on July 24, 2005.

Anonymous sources told the journal that Armstrong will join the Astana team ? reuniting him with former U.S. Postal Service and Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel.

The Astana team was prohibited from competing in this year's Tour de France after Alexandre Vinokourov was disqualified for a positive drug test in 2007, and the team's subsequent decision to withdraw from the race.

Armstrong had a brain tumour surgically removed in 1996 and has survived testicular cancer.
 
So Astana will have Kl?den, Leipheimer, Contador AND Armstrong? Rofl. I wonder who they'll prioritize for the yellow jersey.
 
This is going to be interesting...
 
Damn I wonder if hes too old, but its will great to watch another tour with him in it. He is an amazing rider.
 
So Astana will have Kl?den, Leipheimer, Contador AND Armstrong? Rofl. I wonder who they'll prioritize for the yellow jersey.

Astana will wipe CSC off the floor and they wipe every other team off the floor :O
 
Whoa, that's out of the blue. After following this year's tour and getting really interested in it I was already looking forward to the '09 edition - this puts a whole new spin on it.
 
I heard this too, but it's still a rumour IIRC.

Still, i'd love for him to kick all of our Euro asses for the 8th time though...
 
Woohoo, finally have someone to truly support unlike the last three years (apart from Cavendish in the sprints and Rasmussen last year).
 
CSC is an incredibly strong team, so I kinda doubt that. ;)

Yeah they are. I was forgetting about Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voit. Should be a pretty even match up then which will make 09 very interesting :D
 
Lance Armstrong to make pro comeback in Adelaide

CYCLING superstar Lance Armstrong will make one of the biggest comebacks in sporting history in Adelaide next year. The seven-times Tour de France winner today confirmed he would race in the annual Tour Down Under 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 today.

"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 today.

"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 today, at noon New York time.

Armstrong currently does not even have a confirmed professional team.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,24396637-11088,00.html
 
Armstrong set to join Astana team

Lance Armstrong will join the Astana team when he makes his much-anticipated return to cycling, according to a Kazakh cycling federation offical.

"On Wednesday Armstrong will announce his decision to join our team," said Kazakhstan's cycling federation deputy president Nikolai Proskurin.

The seven-time Tour de France winner will begin his comeback at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.

Armstrong, seeking an eighth Tour win, will expand on his plans at 1700 BST.

The American will reveal more about his comeback schedule at a media conference in New York.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/7632837.stm
 
Confirmation of Astana

PRESS RELEASE: seven-time tour de france champion joins astana cycling team

Astana Cycling Team General Manager Johan Bruyneel has confirmed Lance Armstrong?s announcement to make his professional cycling comeback with Team Astana. Armstrong, who retired in 2005 after recording history with his seventh Tour de France title (all with Bruyneel), has devoted the last three years to the fight against cancer, an illness which temporarily halted his cycling career in 1996. Armstrong now rejoins Bruyneel and Team Astana in an effort to once again return as a champion cyclist and more importantly raise the awareness of the global cancer burden.

http://www.astana-cyclingteam.com/news_press/teamarmstrongpressrelease.html
 
Bruyneel and Armstrong are best mates, so this didnt really surprise me. The important thing now, is what that happens with Contador, which said he would be furious if this happened.
 
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