Friends and Foes Emerge As Lance Armstrong’s Comeback Gathers Speed
by Justin Davis
PARIS, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) – A comeback by one of sport’s biggest legends is
usually the stuff dreams are made of.
But less than two weeks after announcing his return to professional cycling
after a three-year hiatus, Tour de France icon Lance Armstrong continues to
attract a mix of plaudits and criticism.
Armstrong, who battled cancer from 1996-1998 before claiming the first of
seven consecutive yellow jerseys in 1999, claims his return is geared towards
spreading global awareness of the threat cancer poses.
But a certain degree of mystery still surrounds the real driving force
behind the man who built his legendary status, and made millions, dominating
the world’s biggest bike race.
Some simply can’t wait to see whether the formidable Armstrong of old can
cut it in 2009.
“Lance Armstrong is a superstar in the same category as Tiger Woods,”
purred Mike Turtur, a top official with the Tour Down Under where Armstrong is
hoping to make his competitive return on January 20-25.
Others believe his return will simply revive the old doping controversies
which the American trailed in his wake throughout his impressive career.
“His return is not good news,” former three-time yellow jersey winner Greg
Lemond told AFP last week in Las Vegas. “It’s like a nightmare, that we have
lived through all these years, returning.”
Even within the team Armstrong has joined, Astana, his return is making
waves.
Astana’s Alberto Contador barely had time to savor his own history-making
feat two weeks ago when he added the Tour of Spain to his 2008 Giro d’Italia
title and Tour de France victory from 2007.
Until then, Contador was Astana’s undisputed team leader. But now,
Contador’s future at the Kazakh-backed outfit seems clouded. One leading
French magazine, Velo, even questioned whether Contador was “being made a fool
of”.
Contador has already expressed doubts about who will support who when it
comes to racing alongside Armstrong next July.
But it appears that Astana team chief Johan Bruyneel, despite his respect
for the Spanish ace, is standing firmly behind Armstrong.
“He (Armstrong) has a charisma that makes people want to go to war with
him; sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the team,” Bruyneel said Thursday.
“It’s not a common characteristic and I think a lot of riders, especially
the young ones, can learn from him.”
Bruyneel, who helped steer Armstrong to all of his Tour triumphs, claims
his hands are tied.
“Alberto has had a magnificent year and is currently the best professional
cyclist in the world,” added the Belgian.
“But people need to remember that I’m employed by our Kazakh sponsors, not
Alberto Contador, not Lance Armstrong, not any one rider.”
The possibility of an Armstrong v Contador duel for the yellow jersey -
whether they are in the same team or not – would lend a new dimension to next
year’s race.
But whoever steers Astana to possible victory in 2009 might not matter come
next July.
It is the fact that Armstrong has decided to return – following in the
footsteps of sports giants like Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan – which is of
most interest.
But there may be one challenge, the one that could see him put many doping
allegations definitively to rest, that the 37-year-old Texan cycling star is
struggling against.
Despite never having tested positive for banned substances Armstrong has
had no shortage of detractors.
Books have been written, circumstantial evidence presented but – while
vehemently denying ever using banned substances – Armstrong has never been
sanctioned for drugs use.
Astana have recently revealed that the results of future anti-doping tests
on Armstrong will be “made public” with the aim of total transparency.
But it is results from the past, not the future, that Armstrong is having
trouble with.
Days after his seventh Tour victory in 2005 French sports daily L’Equipe
alleged that several of Armstrong’s samples, kept since 1999 and tested
retroactively, tested positive for EPO (erythropoietin).
Armstrong swiped the claims aside, but the experts claim the tests stand up.
France’s national anti-doping agency (AFLD), whose recent ‘victims’ include
Italian Riccardo Ricco – who Thursday was suspended two years for EPO use at
the 2008 Tour – this week offered to re-test Armstrong’s samples from 1999 to
“prove his good faith”.
“The way these samples are preserved and the volume of them mean that you
can do an analysis for the possible presence of EPO on at least five stages of
the 1999 Tour de France,” said an AFLD statement.
Armstrong spurned the offer, claiming “mishandling” issues with the
laboratory and claiming the same lab, at Chatenay-Malabry near Paris, also
botched his 1998 samples.
“The 1998 and 1999 Tour de France samples have not been maintained
properly,” Armstrong said.
“They have been compromised in many ways and even three years ago they
could not be tested to provide any meaningful results.”
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