Lance Armstrong’s Return To Cycling
I was reading the Sunday newspaper this morning, and there was a headline about Lance Armstrong. If you follow cycling, you may be aware that he recently announced his decision to return to the sport of cycling. However, if you’re like most Americans, I doubt cycling is high up on the list of sports that you follow with much enthusiasm. To be honest, I’d have to put myself on that list as well.
Lance Armstrong’s return to the sport has engendered quite a bit of controversy. To be honest, I don’t understand why. From the reading I’ve done, which I must admit, isn’t nearly as in-depth as many, it just doesn’t make sense. The guy was a tremendous athlete who contracted testicular cancer. By the time it was detected, it had spread to both his lungs and his brain. So what did he do? He beat the disease, and returned to cycling stronger than before. To top it off, he started the Lance Armstrong Foundation, with the catchphrase “LIVESTRONG.” The entire purpose of the organization is to fight cancer. How can anyone fault that?
From the standpoint of the sport of cycling, it sounds as if one of the worst things an athlete can do is be found guilty of doping. From what I’ve read, although accusations abound, he has never been proven to have used banned substances. Furthermore, the French press at least, seems to have gone to great lengths to prove he has used performance enhancing drugs. Heck, the guy left professional cycling and ended up running both the 2007 New York Marathon and the 2008 Boston Marathon. I think we just need to admit he’s a gifted athlete and be done with it.
Back to cycling though. It is certain that Armstrong’s presence in the sport raises the awareness of cycling in the U.S., at least for the duration of the Tour de France. The last time he competed (and won, by the way) the Tour de France, you couldn’t turn on the television without seeing a cycling commercial. How often does that happen in the U.S.? I know I can’t tell you the name of a single currently competing U.S. cyclist.
I’m curious. How many readers can name five U.S.-born professional cyclists, other than Lance Armstrong and Greg Lemond? I can’t.
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I can name 100 U.S. born pro cyclists, at least.
So your posed questions about name five U.S.-born professional cyclists is odd at best, ignorant at worst.
Those who follow cycling even marginally, I bet, can also name Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, both winners of many races and also in the mix of the sport’s controversy. And my hunch is that George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer, both currently considered among the best in the world and both American-born, are well-known. A better question, in my opinion, would have been to ask names five pro soccer players born in the U.S.
Thanks for the comment James. I’ve only started cycling in the last year and a half, primarily as an addition to my running so as to be able to do triathlons.
Although I’m sure there are a lot of die-hard U.S. cycling fans, I personally haven’t met any. I know a few cyclists, and they probably do, but most of the folks I meet just couldn’t seem to care less about the sport. And, to your point, the same holds true for soccer.
The sport just doesn’t seem to get the press here in the US that it gets in other parts of the world. Are the races regularly televised? With the exception of the Tour de France, I generally don’t see them on the air.
Gifted athletes must have the perseverance and the strength to overcome challenges in life. This great website that we found showcases young promising sports athletes through their online channel where the sports scouts just has to click on the links to be able to contact the sports talent. The sports professionals can train them and build up their aptitudes and self-confidence.