CYCLING -- LIVESTRONG CHALLENGE

Lance Armstrong will ride here Sunday but has France on his mind

Cycling champion talks about his future plans as he trains in Hill Country

By Pamela LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, October 25, 2008

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Lance Armstrong rolls down the River Road, calf muscles pumping as he pedals up and down hills, past cactus and cattle, and over dry creek crossings.

This ride is more than just a preview of the 90-mile route of this weekend's Livestrong Challenge, the signature fundraising event of Armstrong's nonprofit foundation. It also marks the cycling champion's return to a training regimen that likely will put him back in Europe come July, competing for his eighth Tour de France title.

This time, though, Armstrong's focus is broader than simply adding another Tour victory. He wants to use his celebrity status to draw attention to his Livestrong Global Cancer Initiative, announced last month in New York. Through the initiative, he is trying to reach out to policymakers around the world, seeking to change the stigma that he says is attached to cancer in Italy, South Africa, Mexico and elsewhere, eliminating misconceptions that the disease is contagious or a death sentence.

"Every time I get in a bike race with a LiveStrong bike or helmet, it raises awareness," he says.

A three- or four-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit is planned in Paris immediately after the 2009 Tour de France in July, which Armstrong hasn't quite committed to — yet.

"I'm definitely coming back to racing, and I recognize the Tour is the marquee event," he says. "Chances are more likely than not that I'll do (the Tour de France)."

And maybe not just in 2009. "I don't want to rule out a second year, but I don't want to guarantee it either. My performance will determine a lot of it."

Forty miles into the day's 82-mile ride, he pauses to slurp some energy drink, squeeze a packet of energy gel into his mouth and gobble a roll spread with Nutella. He wants to talk about the Livestrong Challenge, which includes a 5K run and walk that starts and finishes at the Capitol today, and rides of 10, 45, 65 and 90 miles around Dripping Springs on Sunday. About 3,500 people are expected at the run and about 3,000 for the rides.

The event grew out of an informal ride started by Armstrong and his friends in the cycling champion's pre-cancer days. In 1997, the Ride for the Roses became a fundraiser for the new Lance Armstrong Foundation. In 2006, organizers changed the name to the LiveStrong Challenge, added a run and expanded to other cities. Last year, organizers moved the ride from the flat ranchland east of Austin to the hills surrounding Dripping Springs and Wimberley. Proceeds benefit the foundation, which has raised more than $260 million for cancer research and survivorship programs.

His work to improve life for the 12 million Americans and others around the world living with cancer has become his priority.

Armstrong also wants to talk about Wednesday morning's unveiling of the 2009 route of the Tour de France, which will start July 4 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and end July 26 in Paris, covering 2,140 miles around Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy. The three-week race will include 20 major climbs, with one of the toughest — Mont Ventoux — on the next-to-last day. It will be the first time in the race's 105-year history that a mountain stage is scheduled the day before the finish, a sure way to punch up the drama.

Armstrong, known for attacking the mountain rides, says the route doesn't matter much.

"They always do the Alps, the Pyrenees, the time trials and the Paris finish, and the best one always wins," he says.

He'll ride with Team Astana, and says he ignores reports that team member Alberto Contador, who won the Tour in 2007, doesn't want to relinquish the team leader position.

"It's silly to be talking about team leaders in October when the tour isn't until July," Armstrong says. "My commitment to the team is I will support the strongest rider. It's not just Alberto and myself — we also have Levi Leipheimer. There's a chance Alberto will be the third strongest on the team. There's also a chance I'll be the third strongest on the team."

Shift back to cycling

Earlier this year, the Tour wasn't in Armstrong's plans at all. Instead, he was focusing on running another marathon and shooting for a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes. But riding in the Leadville Trail 100, a 100-mile mountain bike race in Colorado in July, convinced him to drop those plans and return to bike racing.

He's now riding two to six hours a day and doing core and leg strengthening work at his home gym, with one day of rest a week.

"Right now I need to build a solid base of aerobic conditioning," he says.

During his retirement, he went months at a time without getting on a bike. He also gained 15 pounds. Despite running three marathons, he considered himself out of shape. Back to 168 pounds on his 5-foot-11-inch frame, he's close to his Tour weight again.

Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, from 1999 to 2005. His cantankerous relationship with the French media and the race's organizers is well-known. But the top leaders at ASO, which puts on the Tour, have recently been replaced.

"The old leadership needed to go," he says. "It's a good thing for all of us."

As for that relationship with the French media? "There's bitterness with the press a little bit. I think that gets blown out of proportion. But if it gets to be a distraction to the global (cancer) campaign, then it's not worth it," he says. "For the global campaign to be successful, it's good to have the Tour — it's not essential."

If he does return to the Tour and wins, he'll be the oldest winner in modern times. He says age doesn't matter. "I don't feel any different. Recovery is the same. As long as I eat properly, it's fine," he says.

Back on the bike, he buzzes along, keeping an average pace of about 20 mph. He pulls alongside his support truck, grabs his Blackberry and reads and sends messages as he cruises along.

Next on the agenda? The team time trial at Tour de Gruene next weekend in Gruene, south of Austin. The real comeback begins in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia.

pleblanc@statesman.com; 445-3994