The Return of Lance

So here goes a ranty post about cycling, feel free to ignore.

In the last 24 hours I've read several reports saying that Lance Armstrong was going to make a comeback to cycling next season. At first I brushed it aside as, yeah right, these people wish... but with a confirmation from the man himself, I was more in an oh shit mood.

I love Lance Armstrong. He's the reason that I started watching cycling in the first place. I just don't want him to come back. It's been more than three years since he's raced, and things are very very different. The peloton is full of a bunch of young guys, with a different attacking style. None of his, use the team to blast the race apart and then ride it out to the end. Teams aren't getting a chance to do anything as guys are going off on solo flyers, forcing big favorites to grab a wheel and hold on for dear life. While I think Lance of all people is capable of putting a strong team together, will his strategy work anymore.

And what about the fact that there is a whole new generation of talent out there now. These young guys are 23, 24, 25 years old. Lance will be 37 soon. Is he really going to be able to keep up? And think of all of the potential he is blocking out if he signs with Astana. Oops, sorry Alberto Contador, you may have just won three grand tours in two years, but Lance is going to be the captain now? Is that really fair to Contador? What about Levi Leipheimer? Or Andreas Kloden who got thrown under the bus after the Vino drama of 07 and never got back out?

Mostly though, I want to remember Lance as a champion. The guy who won 7 in a row. I don't want to see him make a comeback and then fail disastrously. The last impression of him will be the lasting impression. Comebacks don't always work, and in a sport that's evolved this quickly from a lot of hard times, I just don't see how Lance can do it without disappointing a lot of fans, sorry.