photo by: joshgray

In a recent interview picked up by Bloomberg news Astana manager Johan Bruyneel has set the stage for a Armstrong/Basso battle at the 2009 Giro!

I brought up the possibility in a post a few weeks ago but was unsure whether Lance and Ivan were gunning for a Giro win. Well Bruyneel laid it out pretty clearly that he thinks Bass will be:

“It’s going to be Basso’s main goal of the season,” Bruyneel said. “He’s been busy with his comeback from the moment he was suspended.” ¹

Now its up to Lance to decide whether the Italian showdown will take place. Lance is fully committed to ride, but there is still a chance that if he were feeling especially good he might take it easy in the Giro for a chance at an eighth tour win. We’ll know more about his condition soon with training camp for Astana starting in California and Armstrong’s Tour Down Under comeback debut in early January.

1. Bloomberg News, Armstrong’s Main Giro Rival to Be Basso, Manager Bruyneel Says

photo by: per0ni

With the Giro d’ Italia still seven months away, the anticiapation for the event continues to rise.  This year promised to be a big one for the Giro if for nothing else than it will be the celebration of the Giro’s 100th anniversary.

While anniversary guaranteed some additional coverage and excitement it’s who’s riding (and who’s not) in this years edition of the Giro that has the cycling world buzzing.  Last month Lance Armstrong joined reighning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre and former Giro winners Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego when he accepted his invitation to the 2009 Giro. 

It’s a decision that’s added another layer of complexity to the some of the biggest remaining question marks surrounding Lance’s comeback… Will he ride the 2009 Tour de France? And, if he does race will it be as team leader?

A Basso vs. Armstrong battle (unlikely Sastre will vie for overall win) in the Italian mountains could make for a very dramatic event and a throwback to 2005 when Basso finished runner up to Lance in his final Tour.  It’s still unclear whether either will be pushing to win the Giro or instead using it as training for the Tour de France.  Part of the speculation stems from the fact that the last rider to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year was Marco Pantani in 1999.  Common wisdom since ‘99 seems to be that a team leader with serious hopes of winning the Tour either skips the Giro (as Lance did in his run of seven wins from ‘99-’05) or plays a supporting role attempting to propel a teamate onto the podium.  Sastre for one has made it clear he’s using the event as his major preparation for the Tour and to test the legs of his new team.

As for who’s not racing? Namely one man, Alberto Contador.  The 2007 Tour de France champ and Lance’s Astana teamate has decided to skip this years Giro to focus on the Tour.  Contador, who is the defeding champion at the Giro d’Italia, says he’ll race the Vuelta d’Espana instead as preparation for his main focus on the Tour de France.

Contador’s decision and the class of the Giro field are giving more strength to a growing theory, and one even Armstrong has cited as a possiblity, where Lance would make the Giro the main focus of his 2009 racing comeback.  Althought it’s not a surprising move by Contador to skip the Giro (he is named by almost all as the tour favorite) it does leave the door wide open for Lance.  With such a strong Astana team behind him, and likely one much less prone to conflict around the team leader position (Lance would still be up against his strong teamates of Levi Leipheimer and Andres Kloden), it could be a great opportunity for Lance to pick up a grand tour win and major attention for his fight against cancer

If Lance could make the podium, or win in any of the major Grand Tours this year it would have to be considered by most to be a successful comeback after three years off.  With his continued talk of a multi year comeback and insistence that he doesn’t need the Tour to define him in his return the Giro is looking more and more like Lance’s main event for 2009.

photo by: Lanci Daniele

Lance Armstrong has accepted an invitation to ride in the 2009 Giro d’Italia. The Giro is one of the three “Grand” tours, along with the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France.

Lance has never competed in the long three week stage race considered the second most prestigious in professional cycling.  This year will mark the 100th running of the Giro in what should be an incredible event.

As many hardcore Lance fans know, historically his racing schedule has always focused around the Tour de France, with minimal events during the season and especially around July. It was a routine that came at the expense of the Giro as well as some of the great “One day Classics” during the summer in Europe.

But Lance’s 2009 scheduling philosophy is proving to be very different, and he even mentions regretting not previously riding in the Giro:

“I will give my utmost, and not only to prepare for the Tour,” Armstrong said in a statement from race organiser RCS Sport. “Not having taken part in the Giro was one of my biggest regrets as a rider. Finally I will be able to do it. It will be the Centenary Giro and I know how much that means for Italians. Everyone says it will be only to prepare for the Tour [de France] but, instead, it could be a case that I go to Italy to win and that the Giro will be my true three-week stage race. ¹”

The move does bring some some skepticism around his chances at winning an eighth Tour de France. The Giro is less than a month away from the Tour (2009 Giro ends May 31, 2009 Tour de France starts July 4th) and it’s a grueling three week race in it’s own right, a few of the reasons Lance has avoided it in the past. As Lance mentioned in the quote above many would consider it good training since he has been away from the sport for three years. However with the Contador situation and other factors in play there is a possibility he could make the Giro the focus of his comeback as Lance notes.

It’s going to be very interesting to watch as the season progresses! It’s clear Lance’s main motive behind this comeback is spreading his message on cancer around the world and he’s able to use international cycling races as perfect venues for that.

But nobody can doubt that Armstrong hates to loose. Lance is one of the most dedicated and fanatical trainers in the history of sport, or any sport. His name, especially for Americans, has become almost synonymous with the Tour de France, the only professional cycling race that exists in the minds of many US Sports fans.

Keep checking the site for more news about the Giro and Lance’s comeback! Subscribe to the rss feed and you’ll always be up to date with every new post!

1. Guardian.co.uk: Armstrong to race in next year’s Giro d’Italia

photo by: Rob O’Dea

“I’m going back to professional cycling. I’m going to try and win an eighth Tour de France.”

-Lance Armstrong¹

After months of rumors and speculation, Lance officially declares a comeback!  It’s an incredible move which comes three years after retiring from professional cycling following a historic 7th straight Tour de France win.

In a five page Vanity Fair exclusive article Lance talks about life being retired, his campaign against cancer, thoughts on running for governor and then details his plan to return to professional cycling.

On coming back at 37:

“Look at the Olympics. You have a swimmer like Dara Torres. Even in the 50-meter event [freestyle], the 41-year-old mother proved you can do it. The woman who won the marathon [Constantina Tomescu-Dita, of Romania] was 38. Older athletes are performing very well. Ask serious sports physiologists and they’ll tell you age is a wives’ tale. Athletes at 30, 35 mentally get tired. They’ve done their sport for 20, 25 years and they’re like, I’ve had enough. But there’s no evidence to support that when you’re 38 you’re any slower than when you were 32.¹”

On his motivation to come back:

“Then Leadville, this kind of obscure bike race, totally kick-started my engine. For me it’s always been about the process.… The process of getting there is the best part. You start the season a little out of shape, a little heavy. You get in better shape. You lose some weight. I mean you’re just crafting this perfect program. For several weeks I [had] trained [for Leadville] and went riding by myself. Obviously beautiful territory and fresh air, just feeling fit, losing weight, getting strong—living a very healthy lifestyle. I thought, This might be fun to try again.¹”

1. Vanity Fair: Lance Armstrong Rides Again