Several months back, Lance Armstrong announced that he was gong to race in the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, only to reverse his decision a few months later, not long after Floyd Landis announced his intention to race as well. (Coincidence or not?) Many fans of cycling in general, and mountain biking specifically, were disappointed, as some Lance fans wanted to see what he could on the course, while others wanted to see him put in his place in the mountains.
Well, it looks like Lance might actually be back in the Leadville. Long time friend and training partner Chris Carmichael posted an interesting entry in his blog in which he details a recent ride of a portion of the Leadville trail with Lance. While Chirs stops short of saying Lance is in, he does say that the seven time Tour de France winner is intrigued with the course and is reconsidering his options.
Personally, I think it would be very interesting to see what Lance can do on a mountain bike. He always competed well in the mountains of France, but this type of race is a lot different from then the road race’s he is use to. Still, it would bring a lot of interest to the race, as no matter where Lance goes, a crowd is sure to follow. I hope he decides to race. It would certainly be fun to watch.
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My doctor has a place in Leadville and goes up there fairly often. Back in April he told me that his friend in Leadville who is racing the 100 this year said that Lance is still planning on racing. With Carmichael’s post it does add to the rumor.
Awesome! I for one would love to see it. And if he and Landis both race, it would bring a ton of attention to the race, and the sport in general when one of the top mountain bike racers beats both of them. 🙂
Thanks for the scoop Rob!
that should be exciting…
keep an eye open for a one legged Kenyan named Abrahim
he will be out there racing as well!
too bad they are not racing the Shenandoah Mountain 100
as I am starting to think about that event for Labor Day Weekend
it is an epic adventure
words from people who have done Leadville and the SM100
they all vote for the SM100 as being a better race
less altitude
more singletrack
I’ll keep an eye out for Abrahim! Sounds like a great story!
I’d love to see Lance or Landis in the SM100 too, but we’ll see how they do in Leadville first. If either of them show up, it’ll be interesting to see how they compete against the other great riders in the mountains. This isn’t the Alps on pavement. But then again, they’re nothing to sneeze at either.