The Lance World Tour stopped at the Interbike trade show today and the man himself talked more about his comeback plans. The former "man", Greg Lemond, was front and center during the Q and A session and pressed Lance and personal testing guru Don Catlin on how they plan to show that Lance is racing clean. His comments (see www.cyclingnews.com for a good recap) came off as churlish and bitter - which is better than usual for the perpetually dyspeptic Lemond. The poor guys rolls out of bed on the wrong side, wads his panties, and drinks a shot of vinegar before breakfasting on lemon peels and Vegemite. He is determined to stick to the narrative he has written about modern cycling - that he was the greatest cyclist in the world until everyone else started doping (circa 1991) and, because he refused to compromise his morals, couldn't keep up. Then this upstart comes along, fully incorporated into the shady system of performance-enhancing drugs, and makes us all forget Greg Lemond ever existed. It would be pathetic if not for the niggling detail that... it's true. At least the part about the peloton speeding up and Lemond being left behind with his morals. As for Lance's suspected improprieties - that's based on circumstantial evidence (as I blogged in a prior post) and, at least from a utilitarian perspective, may have become beside the point. It sounds like Lance is trying to do the right thing this time with Dr. Catlin (who was a bit of a WADA tool in the Landis affair; but WADA tool may be just the tool you need in this setting) and Lemond should try to find a way, against his every inclination, to, for once, pipe down. Those of us who admire the hell out of Lemond would love the opportunity to admire the hell out of him without Lemond spoiling it by opening his mouth all the time. Greg - everybody doesn't realize you would have won 5 tours easily with just a bit of luck, but some of us do. Try this: tomorrow - sleep in, pull on some fresh boxers, and have a bagel for breakfast.


Salon.com
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I'm glad Lance is trying for another tour. I know rumors abound but nothing's been proven and the tests are so tight now that he has to be clean to get it done. Each July, we are glued to the tour, would love to physically follow it one year (if the economy doesn't collapse and I'm living as a hermit on a mountaintop). I was bummed about Vino and all the rest. Viva le Lance!