Lance Armstrong wants to recapture Tour glory again. - AP
CALAHARRA, Spain (AP):
ASTANA TEAM leader Johann Bruyneel is looking forward to reuniting with seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
Bruyneel said yesterday he has already begun discussions with Armstrong, who is coming out of his three-year retirement to try to win an eighth Tour title in 2009.
"He won't have a problem finding a team. But it's clear that the relationship we have means that I can't allow him to go to another team. For me it would be nice to be a part of this," Bruyneel told reporters at the Spanish Vuelta.
Despite their close relationship, Bruyneel said Tuesday night was the first time he spoke with Armstrong about his comeback plans. Discussions with Armstrong about joining Astana are focused only on 2009, he said.
Although Bruyneel said sponsors and Astana directors must still give the green light, it sounds as if Armstrong is headed for a reunion with his former coach. The former Discovery Channel cyclist is ready to ride for free.
To promote cancer fight
"It's my team, this is what I built, so there's no way (I will quit it)," Bruyneel said when asked if he would be ready to leave the Kazakh team to work elsewhere with Armstrong. Bruyneel is signed to Astana for another two years.
Bruyneel said Armstrong is coming back to promote the fight against cancer globally after doing "all he could" within the United States.
"He knows that coming back is incredible news and that a lot of people won't give him credit for it, and that's what motivates him," Bruyneel said. "When he took the decision to announce it to the world, it was clear. With a little more tranquility and time, we'll see what happens."
Bruyneel did wonder if Armstrong's age - 37 - and a three-year layoff from the sport would leave him at a disadvantage in his chase for an eighth Tour title.
Motivated
"It's a bit of an incognito. Not only the age, but also the years out of competition ... (the training in between) none of it comes close to what a professional athlete does. What is the reality? He is very motivated."
Bruyneel is confident that Armstrong's addition wouldn't cause any problems in the Astana team, which is led by 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador.
"Alberto is the best rider at the moment, while Lance is on the comeback. These are things we will see about," said Bruyneel, who had no doubt that Armstrong would provide excellent support to the Spaniard at the Tour should he find himself out of contention.
"We have seen on other occasions he's a great teammate. I think it will be a relationship filled with a lot of mutual respect, but we'll see."
Contador called Armstrong's return "great news for cycling". Though the Spaniard would welcome the American rider with open arms, he spoke of the tricky situation that could arise next July at cycling's premier race.
"Sure, the two of us would like to win the Tour and some kind of complication could develop, but to arrive at that point would be a race in which different factors would come into play. For now, let's not think about those," Contador said.
Current Tour champion Carlos Sastre didn't flinch when asked about Armstrong's return.
"It's been a few years since he's been at the top level, but it wouldn't surprise me," the CSC rider said coolly. "He's a champion, and always when you can have one more as a teammate, I would love that."
Team CSC head and former Armstrong rival Bjarne Riis was taken aback by the news.
"If you had said it was April 1, I would have believed it was an April's Fool," Riis told The Associated Press. "It came as a surprise. It's thrilling. I respect it but it came as a surprise."
Rabobank team leader Adri van Houwelingen said the Dutch team had no interest in signing Armstrong.
"We were very interested in Lance Armstrong 15 years ago and I think Lance Armstrong is not the future of active cycling," van Houwelingen told the AP. "It's hard to believe he would come back - you don't expect this from a champion.
"In my opinion it's impossible to win. It's impossible to come back on the level he had before. I don't know what his motivation is."
Most riders and team officials agreed that an Armstrong return would be great for cycling and especially the Tour.
"It's a nice thing. He wants to compete, to feel the emotions, to have an objective to fight for. If he returns, he'll surely be competitive," said 37-year-old Gerolsteiner rider Davide Rebellin. "He's competed in all sports ... for him from the moment he starts training, he'll be on his way to competing. I know how him well and how he is. He'll do all he needs to get the results."
