Lance Armstrong Press Conference: My Impressions

September 25th, 2008 by Ron Callahan View Comments

I made it to the press conference this morning, but commitments with vendors and internet access problems at the Sands prevented me from getting this out earlier. Apologies to those who had to go elsewhere for this news.

As most of his know by now, Lance made his announcement in New York yesterday, then flew to Vegas to ride Cross Vegas last night. I was there, and for someone who has been more or less retired for several years and rarely did cyclocross, he rode impressively.

There was quite a large contingent of the cycling press on hand today. I spotted Richard Pestes (PezCyclingNews.com), Zap Espinoza (Road Bike Action), Neil Rogers (Velo News), Loren Mooney (Bicycling Mag) and folks from CyclingNews.com, Road Magazine, Cycle Sport and others. I expected to see some of the major networks represented as well, but haven’t seen anyone yet. Phil Liggett was expected as well but I did not see him.

Plenty of us small dogs are here too.

Lance opens with a joke by saying that he changed his mind about coming out of retirement about 20 minutes into Cross Vegas.

He had just a couple of updates from what he said yesterday (returning to racing, joining Astana).

First, he noted that he will be doing the Tour Down Under, then going to the Tour of California. Next, he announced that there will be a Trek sponsored development that will be based around Taylor Phinney and run by Axel Mercx. Axel couldn’t make it today, but his dad was there.

Don Kaplan will be running the medical/anti-doping program.

Greg Lemond asked the first question, and I apologize in advance because I could not hear the question over the clamor. It seemed to be Greg harping on Lance’s record. Lance was notably frustrated but was able to bring it back to the Global Cancer Campaign.

Tim Maloney of Road Bike Action wanted to know what Lance hoped to achieve in the next year. Lance seemed to be focused on spreading global awareness of cancer and getting the message out as best as he can. Winning races, at least for him, is secondary.

As noted above, Trek will be the main sponsor of the development team and Lance will be involved as much as he can, schedule permitting. Axel will run the day to day.

Someone asked a question about bicycle safety and safe roads and bike routes, and what he might do to raise awareness about that. He agreed that it is definitely a problem and that he is not as comfortable letting his kids ride as he would like. He did not go so far as to say that he would be doing anything formal about it.

Richard Pestes of Pez asked what transpired to make Lance go to Astana instead of starting a Livestrong team. Lance noted that it is a huge logistics and financial effort to start a team. He also noted that he is loyal to Johan Bruyneel and would not want to return without him.

Richard Masoner of cyclelicio.us asked about Christian Prudhomme and how he feels Astana for 2009. Lance said that he had once again talked to Prudhomme and now notes that Astana is more than welcome to do all races in 2009.

Someone asked Taylor Phinney how he feels. He says that he was inspired by Axel and Lance when he was coming up, so it is “really cool” to work with them. He feels sad to leave Garmin Chipotle and Vaughters and is thankful for the opportunity that they gave him.

Neil Rogers for VeloNews asks how Lance feels about riding with Alberto Contador. Lance says that Alberto is the best out there right now and that he’s looking forward to racing with both him and Levi again.

CyclingNews asks how long he will ride. Lance notes that since there is no contract, there is no set term. He’ll ride for at least a year, but it’s not a year and out. He could go longer, but there are other endurance things that he wants to do after cycling.

In response to a question about performance enhancing drugs, he says that he does not feel that it is beneficial to sit around and focus on doping. We have to set the rules, test, kick out those who break the rules and move on. He sought out Don to set up the anti-doping program for him and the rest of the team. He concludes by saying that we as cyclists and fans need to get back to just enjoying the sport.

Don Kaplan relates that the testing program is still taking shape. All of Lance’s data (t/e, EPO, etc.) will be published on the web. Everything will be in bounds. Samples will be kept and saved for a long time if new tests arise and if there are any questions. The testing is longitudinal and will track the rider’s data from week to week.

Lemond asks another question. Seems to be around that people can do things that may not be picked up on a week to week basis. Oxygen uptake is something that is hard to track? What about genetic manipulation? Lance seems bored with Greg going on and on.

Maloney asks that given that Astana will probably be doing the TdF, who does Lance feel about going back to France. Lance says that he thinks that France is a great country and he looks forward to going back. He likes the route for 2009. Monte Carlo is near where he used to live in the South of France. Also likes the time trial being on Mont Ventoux.

It’s noted that the team will pay for the testing program and the costs will likely be quite expensive. Since Lance is not taking a salary, he felt that he was able to ask the team to do this.

There was a question for Taylor about the Olympics and his parents. He says that the Olympics was the coolest experience of his life. He stayed all 3 weeks and hung out with the athletes. He does feel some pressure given his lineage, but he uses it as motivation.

The last question was about the risks of returning to racing. He noted the obvious risks of racing itself and reminds us that he lost a team member is a fatal crash. He also says that it is a risk for his family, especially his three small children, as he will be away quite a bit more than he has in the past several years.