Lance Retires

I just finished watching the coverage on OLN of Lance Armstrong's press conference in Augusta, Georgia where he's getting ready for the Tour de Georgia. Lance announced that this year's Tour de France will be his last race as a pro cyclist. As a fan of Lance and as a fan of cycling I can't help but feel a bit sad. I was a fan of his when he was a 16 year old competing against guys like Dave Scott, Mark Allen and Scott Tinley in professional triathlons. I was thrilled when he decided to focus on the bike and went pro. His win at the 1993 World Championships was a remarkable win for a guy so young. I remember his stage win in 1995 days after his teammate, Fabio Casartelli, died on a mountain descent during the race. The determination and passion I saw on days like those made me proud to be a fan of the sport.

I remember his press conference when he announced that he had testicular cancer. I remember how it floored me that a guy in his mid-20's (my age at the time) could be among the most fit athletes in the world and yet become so sick. I kept track of him when Confidis (the French pro team) dropped him like a bad habit while he went through chemo. I remember how happy I was that he had signed with the Postal team and would get another shot at a pro career. I remember how shocked I was that he won the Tour's prologue time trial in '99 and how proud and excited I was to see an American cyclist back in the yellow jersey for the first time since Greg LeMond.

I remember his battle with Pantani on seemingly every climb as the '98 winner battled the '99 winner on the sport's grandest stage. I remember 2000 when Ullrich went head first into a culvert on a descent and Lance's response in waiting and making sure Jan was safe before continuing to push the race onward. I remember "the look" he gave Ullrich as he rode him off his wheel on another stage. I remember Lance and Heras destroying the field and eventually dropping Beloki on the way to victory in 2002.

I remember the tense conditions and troubles the Postal team had in 2003 when Lance went on to win number 5. Brake pads rubbing on the wheel up mountainsides, dehydration kicking in, the crash where Lance was pulled down by a kid's mussette bag on the final major climb of the tour which could have been his undoing, but instead gave him a surge of adrenaline that he used to drop everybody else on the mountain. I remember the look of joy/relief on the final time trial, the day before the Tour ended, when Ullrich hit the deck on a slick corner and Lance was able to relax and just concentrate on staying upright.

I remember Lance and Basso last year on two consecutive stages coming to the top of climbs. Basso got the first, Lance the second. I remember Lance taking Basso and Ullrich out at the top of another mountain finish. I remember watching the first time trial over Alpe d'Huez in the history of the Tour worried that Lance might be attacked by one of the million fans out on the course, but knowing that if he wasn't, he would destroy the field and possibly set a new record for the climb of one of the Tour's most fabled mountains. I remember Lance, Floyd Landis (his teammate), Ullrich and Andreas Kloden (both on the German T-Mobile team) screaming down a descent near the end of a stage, Kloden making a phenomenal move with about one kilometer left that should have won the day except for the strength of a possessed Lance screaming toward the finish and taking out one of the most dramatic stage wins I've ever seen.

I wonder what this year's memories will be. Will it be a ceremonial victory lap as Lance closes out his career by losing the Tour for the first time since he started winning it? Don't bet on it. I want to see a Jordan vs. Utah ending where arguably the greatest Tour rider ever finishes the job and ends as the Patron (boss) of the Tour that he has been. I want to see him win a few more stages as he squeezes the last moments from a competitive nature that is second to none. I want to see him raise his hands in a victory salute on the Champs-Elysees that is immortalized in the minds of the world as one of the greatest exits an athlete has ever made.

I'm probably more sentimental about this right now since we announced our leaving to the congregation yesterday. Lance's re-entry into the pro peleton after cancer and retirement this year parallel our timeline here. It will be hard for a lot of American cyclists to lose the one cyclist that causes people to want to engage in conversation about cycling. It will be hard for me because it feels like another piece of my identity that I leave behind.