Six-time Tour winner hints at retirement
By James Startt, European Correspondent
Paris, France:
The sport of bicycle racing, like Hollywood or politics, has major icons that have a sort of sacred status about them. Every move they make and every word they speak is monitored and analyzed repeatedly. Lance Armstrong is no exception. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the 33-year old star captured headlines this week when he hinted at retirement.
To date, Armstrong has had his most inauspicious season start since 1998 when he dropped out of the Paris-Nice race--his future in the sport apparently doomed. Once again, he dropped out of the race to Nice this year, and, as of today, only has five days of racing under his belt.
Although he rode solidly in the modest Paris-Camembert classic this Wednesday, he cast doubt in about his future on several occasions in an in-depth interview with the French daily Le Figaro.
"Sometimes I want to say 'stop'" he said. Citing the separation from his three children that is required when racing in Europe. He added, "I won't be racing the Tour de France forever."
Armstrong created non-stop speculation this winter when he entertained the thought of bypassing the 2005 Tour de France. After becoming the first rider in history to win six Tours, he appeared to have little interest in attempting to win seven. The suspense, however, ended in February when, to the delight of many fans, he decided to ride this year's Tour.
This week the suspense was reignited when Armstrong said he would be making a major announcement concerning his career at the Tour of Georgia on April 18th.
"If I were you, I'd go there. I have something important to say," Armstrong said. "It's still too early to talk about it. I will announce it to you, to the world, only later."
Many speculate he may announce that he will attempt to win a seventh Tour this summer and then retire at the end of the season. He has said clearly "to win a seventh Tour is now my objective."
But in an unrelated conversation with Bicycling.com last week another American, Bobby Julich, questioned whether Armstrong would really race this year's Tour.
"If he lines up at the start, he'll win the race," the recent winner of Paris-Nice and the Criterium International, who rides for the Danish CSC team, said. "But I'm not convinced that he'll be at the start. He's got nothing to gain by winning yet another Tour and everything to lose."
Armstrong has repeatedly said that he would race the Tour one more time as stipulated by his two-year contract with the Discovery Channel team. But, as we all know, contracts can be broken or modified.
Armstrong will make his final spring racing appearance in Europe this Sunday at the Tour of Flanders Classic. He will only be riding as a support rider for this teammate George Hincapie, but you can expect his performance to be monitored as closely as the day's winner. The slightest sign of strength or weakness promises to send waves of speculation around the cycling world-at least until his press conference on April 18th.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
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