Lance Armstrong: not a captain, nor a domestique

June 25th, 2009 by Al Fresco View Comments

Armstrong: “This is not 2004 or 2005. I’m not the leader of the team.”

Alberto Contador will captain the Astana squad for the Tour de France. Team manager Johan Bruyneel says “It is not easy to find a better rider than Alberto. He is one of the five riders in history to win all three Grand Tours. He has worked very hard and he deserves to be our leader in July.” Bruyneel acknowledges that Lance Armstrong is strong as well. “He has worked very hard for his comeback and he is very motivated for the Tour,” Bruyneel said.

The rest of the team (Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Dmitriy Muravyev, Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych, Grégory Rast, and Haimar Zubeldia) will support Contador, but Kloden and Leipheimer could each grab some stage wins as well.

The Astana site has the team announcement. The site has been redesigned recently and sports a decidedly yellow and black theme with the white and blue a little more subdued. Armstrong’s official picture for the announcement shows him in a Livestrong jersey. Curiouser and curiouser….

More Tour de France news:
Katusha’s roster: Alexandre Botcharov, Stijn Vandenbergh, Serguei Ivanov, Vladimir Karpets, Joan Horrach Rippoll, Filippo Pozzato, Mikhail Ignatiev, Nikolai Trusov, Danilo Napolitano

Boonen:

Tom Boonen has had his day in court and a decision will come down by June 30th. Boonen’s lawyers reportedly had a document in which the ASO agreed to accept the UCI’s position on Boonen’s participation in this year’s race. Basically, they claimed that the ASO agreed to allow Boonen to ride.
That’s a bit of a weak premise as the letter was not contractual in nature and they are allowed to change their mind.
L’Équipe confirmed that the ASO’s decision to exclude Boonen came as a consequence of the intervention of the French Sports Minister, Bernard Laporte. During the Critérium Dauphiné Libéré, Laporte announced that Boonen was not welcome at the Tour. Reportedly, Laporte had no idea the Belgian sprinter was riding the French race at the time.
Laporte, by the way, is out of a job. French president Nicolas Sarkozy replaced yesterday. Laporte had been vocal in his support of Sarkozy during the election, but became more critical of him recently. Will this make an impact on Boonen’s case? Likely not.

Other News:

Pietro Caucchioli (NGC Lampre) and Francesco De Bonis (Diquigiovanni Androni) have been summoned to appear before the anti-doping prosecutor for the Italian National Olympic Committee on July 8th to respond to the abnormalities on their biological passport.
Samuel Sánchez visited the TT circuit in Assen, Netherlands that will serve as the prologue of the Tour of Spain. He rode a few test laps, accompanied by 10 motorcycles.
Björn Leukemans and Lieuwe Westra have extended their contracts with the Vacansoleil team through the end of 2010.
Thor Hushovd extended with Cervelo throug the end of 2010.
While Danilo Di Luca said earlier in the week that the course for the World Championships suits Alejandro Valverde, don’t think that means he won’t be going for the win. He says, “It is suitable for a rider of my caliber. The last climb is only two kilometers long. If I have the form (I had) in the Giro d’Italia, I have a chance at victory.”
Kyle Bennett and Dominique Daniels rode to the podium’s top step in the elite men’s and women’s contests at the BMX UCI Continental Series finale last Saturday. The tenth and final event in the North American series took place in Rockford, Ill. where Bennett bested USA Cycling’s Power Rankings points leader Donny Robinson and the 16-year-old Daniels beat out Alise Post.
The Nature Valley Grand Prix, a top race on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar held on June 10 – 14, will air on Universal Sports, the event’s worldwide broadcast partner. With so many compelling storylines the program has been expanded to one full hour.