Tour of Missouri Reactions To Lance Armstrong’s Return

The confirmation of Lance Armstrong’s return to cycling brought immediate reaction from cyclists and others gathered at the Tour of Missouri.

Lance Armstrong

I’m in Missouri reporting on the event for several news organizations, and here are some of the reactions I compiled:

Mark Cavendish of Great Britain, winner of the first two stages and the race leader:

“I’ve never had the opportunity to race against Lance; I don’t know different it would be, When I was growing up and starting cycling that was when he (Armstrong) was winning the Tour. So, yes, it’s quite special. And I know (teammate) George Hincapie rode seven tours with him, so that’s impressive.

Chann McRae, Armstrong’s boyhood friend, former cycling pro and team director of Garmin-Chipotle, one of the teams in the race:

“One thing I’ve learned over the years with Lance, if he commits don’t count him out it to get results. He’ll be 37, that’s not that old. After you retire and you hang out for a while, you see what it’s like in normal society and you start to think about how fun it was when you were a bike racer. That’s a lot of adrenaline every single day. So that’s why I think a lot of people come back.”

Steve Hegg, Olympic gold and silver medalist track cycling in 1984, a former national pro road titlist and former Armstrong teammate:

“Michael Jordan made a comeback, didn’t he? Look at what he (Armstrong) has been doing the last few years. He’s run marathons and he’s lived the South Beach and Hollywood lifestyle.

“You know what? Now, he’s coming back to his people. Look at this sport, eventually everyone somehow gets sucked back into it. Maybe this is how he will launch his new bike line, something that hasn’t even been talked about yet.”