Originally published Monday, December 1, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (2)
E-mail article
Print view
Lance Armstrong to race in 2009 Tour de France
Lance Armstrong says he will ride in the 2009 Tour de France, marking the first time he will compete in that race and the Giro d'Italia in the same year.
The Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas — Lance Armstrong will ride in the 2009 Tour de France, marking the first time he will compete in that race and the Giro d'Italia in the same year.
"I'm committed to riding for the best guy," Armstrong said Monday, acknowledging the taxing schedule could leave him riding in a supporting role in France.
The Giro runs May 9-31, and the Tour begins July 4.
With such a quick turnaround between two grueling races, the seven-time Tour champion acknowledged his body might not perform at the same level it did when he won his last Tour in 2005.
"If you've been away for three or four years, it would be silly for anybody to think I could pick up where I left off," Armstrong told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Tenerife in the Canary Islands where Astana is training. "I can tell you I feel better than ever, I feel stronger than ever on Dec. 1. How that translates to racing, we'll have to see. Mentally, in terms of motivation, this feels like 1998-1999 to me."
Armstrong's decision to ride gives the powerhouse Astana team a superstar lineup in France, including 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador. He missed last year's race because Astana was barred from riding for previous doping violations. Also riding with Astana is Germany's Andreas Kloeden, American veteran Levi Leipheimer and top support rider Yaroslav Popovych. Astana is considered by far the strongest multistage team.
"We'll abide by the same code that I do: cycling is team sport, while we'd all like to win," he said.
The 37-year-old stunned the cycling world in September, when he announced he was ending his three-year retirement. He said then his goal was to race in the Tour but stopped short of a guarantee.
Reached by telephone, French anti-doping agency chief Pierre Bordry would not comment on Armstrong's decision but did say "he will treated like everyone else" when it comes to drug testing.
Jonathan Vaughters, Armstrong's U.S. Postal teammate during the 1999 Tour win and now Garmin Chipotle's sporting director, said he was not surprised by the news.
"I never considered it a realistic possibility he wasn't going to do the Tour, Vaughters said by telephone. "It's the biggest race in the world. Why wouldn't he want to do that?"
In recent interviews, Armstrong revealed worries about his personal safety while riding in the open roads of France and through the throngs of fans that pack the route.
![]()
The Tour has its own police force to guard each stage and ensure safety, and French police paid particular attention to Armstrong's safety when he was riding. In recent years, organizers have taken additional steps to protect riders.
Armstrong dismissed any potential threats Monday: "It's not going to keep me from going and doing my job, and it's not going to keep me from spreading my message."
He has dedicated his comeback to raising awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and his global fight against cancer.
"I'm happy with the record (seven wins). I'm training hard and trying to be as competitive as possible," he said. "The main objective is the message of the foundation. That's the first priority and if we ride moderately well, it helps get the message out."
He's scheduled to return to elite racing Jan. 20 for the Tour Down Under in Australia. That's also when the drug-testing program he's arranging with Don Catlin, America's top anti-doping expert, will be in place.
But no race provides a stage similar to the Tour.
"The Tour is the biggest bike race in the world; we need it to tell this story on the biggest stage," Armstrong said. "There's a mutual respect there, it hasn't always been mutual love. We need them, they need us."
AP Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
First load of rescued fish moved to Salmon Creek
Fishing | Where they're biting, where they're not
UPDATE - 10:28 PM
Media: Man pleads not guilty in Erin Andrews videos case
NEW - 09:29 PM
NW Briefs: Golf: UW's Nick Taylor is in fourth place after 36 holes of Texas golf meet
Sideline Chatter: Fourth-down gambles leave New England in shambles

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
Fabulous 139 pieces Fukagawa Arita #917 China - $475
Moyea SWF to iPod converter - $39
NO CONTRACT, NO DEPOSIT,NO CREDIT CHECK CELL PHONE - $59
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Tuesday, Nov. 24
- Black Friday Sale at Michael Cepress Studio a...
- Lizzie's Faves Sale at Lizzie Parker Designs
- Capers November Sale
- Cicada Bridal Party Dress Sale
editors' picks
- Phinney Ridge & Greenwood shopping
- Vintage, consignment and used clothing
- Independent bookstores
- Neighborhood shopping
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Jerry Brewer | Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Husky Football Blog | Ranking the Pac
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
406 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
106 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
95 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
76 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Children in home day care watching hours of TV, study says
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit


