American cyclist Lance Armstrong is aiming for his seventh Tour de France win in the Tour de France 2005 after having set a new record in the 101 year old race with his sixth consecutive win in the Tour de France 2004. Can Armstrong and the Discovery Channel team do it?
Lance's Chances
"'It's a great personality who leaves the stage after winning six Tours, probably seven, and after beating cancer...and that battle with cancer, for me, is his greatest victory.'" Five time Tour de France winner Eddie Merckx in 2004.Not many in the cycling industry gave brash Texan rider Armstrong much of a chance in pro cycling after his battle with testicular cancer which began in 1996; the cancer spread to his lungs and brain, necessitating surgery and chemo, and his team, Cofidis, sent a rep to see him who then, as Armstrong says, left him for dead in a hospital bed. Armstrong rallied, beat the cancer and the United States Postal Service ponied up to sponsor Armstrong's pro racing; he rallied again and he and his "Posties" team won the 1999 Tour de France.
Armstrong went on to win the Tour de France four more times (2000-2003) and he moved into the revered echelon of other five time Tour de France winners: Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil. Armstrong's sixth Tour de France win in 2004 escalated him to the rarefied air occupied by all-time sport greats; he'd accomplished something no one else had managed in 101 years.
In 2005, Armstrong's bid for victory in the Tour de France will be his last; he plans to retire from pro cycling after the race. If he wins, chances are that his record will stand for many years; although many young riders on the pro circuit show promise, none has the explosive power that has carried Armstrong through his 13 year cycling career.
What are people saying?
Some cynics claim that 33-year-old Armstrong is getting a bit long in the tooth to take on the grueling Tour yet again, but Armstrong has surprised critics before. Supporters say that if Armstrong didn't think he could win, he wouldn't be tossing his helmet into the ring in the Tour de France 2005.
Indurain in L'Equipe: "I think he still has the ability to win it again this year because if he didn't believe he could he wouldn't have accepted the challenge...as far as the Tour is concerned, he has won almost everything and if he doesn't win this year, it won't matter because he has already earned his reputation."
Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc: "...as he's a winner and a man of pride, he will come on the Tour with the motivation required to try and win a seventh."
Armstrong in Wikinews: "Can I win this year? I'm not sure, but I'll try...this will be a different year for the Tour with Jan Ullrich looking better and a host of young riders coming up."
In 2004, US Postal team honcho Johan Bruyneel gave Armstrong a fifty-fifty possibility of winning the Tour de France 2005. Bruyneel, now director of Armstrong's Discovery Channel team, has said in 2005 that he is pleased with the team of Armstrong, George Hincapie, Jose Luis Rubiera, Manuel Beltran, Benjamin Noval, Pavel Padrnos, Jose Azevedo and Yaroslav Popovych. Both he and Armstrong believe, however, that the loss of injured Viatcheslav Ekimov may hurt Armstrong's chances. "I think we have fielded our strongest team ever with this formation," Armstrong told Sportinglife.com. "I will miss Eki dearly this time around but I plan on riding the race with all the toughness he has shown over the years."
Jan Ullrich: "There's no Tour for which Lance doesn't prepare himself intensely. I know him well. He will be in top shape when the Tour begins."
Sportsbook.com gives Armstrong 5-6 odds to win the Tour de France 2005 and odds on a loss stand at 10-11.
PinnacleSports.com, an internet sports betting site, puts odds at 23-20 for a win and 4-5 for a loss. PinnacleSports.com's Simon Noble told Winning Streak News, "While others have listed Armstrong as a favorite to capture his seventh yellow jersey, we believe Lance's age, shortened training schedule and the most competitive field he's faced in years will end his championship streak."
Please go to the next page for more on Armstrong's chief rival, Jan Ullrich, has to say and bookmakers' odds on Armstrong and Ullrich in the Tour de France 2005.
