Cycling Features
Lance Armstrong has returned to competitive cycling after a 3 1/2 year retirement. The seven-time Tour de France titlist, cancer survivor, father of three (soon to be four) children, and global businessman will compete in about a half-dozen races in 2009 for two reasons: to expand his mission of global cancer awareness and to the top level of competition, which he said he's missed since his retirement after the 2005 Tour de France. A few days prior to the Tour of California, I interviewed Armstrong as his team was concluding its training camp in Santa Rosa, Calif.
The nearly two-decade reign of the Sea Otter Classic has included single-speed to tandem mountain bike divisions. But criterium racing, arguably the sport's most popular event, hasn't been featured often. Yet the high-speed race of tactics, teamwork, technical skills and repeated short bursts of acceleration on a short, enclosed course, made a one-day returned during the recent four-day cycling festival. And it will soon be on the Monterey Peninsula again in May with the rejuvenated Butterfly Criterium in Pacific Grove.
The concept is simple: With a few adjustments, a smaller-wheeled or full-sized bike becomes compact and more easily transportable – often in less than 30 seconds.
Will Floyd Landis ride again in the pro peloton? If a rampant rumor is true, the answer is yes. And it may happen as soon as next February. That’s when Landis, the dethroned 2006 Tour de France champion, can return to compete following a two-year suspension for an abnormal testosterone ratio. And none other than Tyler Hamilton, the 2004 Olympic time trial gold medalist who also served a two-year suspension for the presence of foreign blood in his system, got the rumor circulating.
Just like in other economic worlds, times are tough in cycling. Dropped sponsorships, canceled races and international governing body in fighting are the norm. But there are encouraging signs, too. Three international teams, including the two United States-based squads heading for the Tour de France, have new, lucrative title sponsorships. Likewise, domestically young events like the Tour of Utah and the new Tour of Colorado have promise. And then there's the Tour de Nez.
