Armstrong: Giro is “very doable”
Lance Armstrong, the man who won the Tour de France a record breaking seven times in a row, said his fall in a race in Spain earlier this week would not hinder his ability to compete in the Giro d’Italia.
Unlike Armstrong’s schedule and goals before he retired after his last Tour de France victory in 2005, his main goal this year was supposed to be the Giro d’Italia, the second most important multi-stages race in professional cycling.
All went well for the Giro, Armstrong was performing well, slowly but surely getting into great shape, until he crashed in this year’s Vuelta of Castilla and Leon race in northern Spain and broke his collarbone. Astana team leader Johan Bruyneel said Armstrong would attend the Giro but may not be able to be a real contender for victory. It seems that Armstrong disagrees:
“I think the Giro is still very doable,” the seven-time Tour de France champion said Tuesday night during a conference call with reporters. “This is definitely a setback, no doubt. It’s the biggest setback I’ve ever had in my cycling career, so it’s a new experience for me.”
Although the recovery typically takes four to six weeks, Armstrong hopes his will be faster.
“It’s a very common cycling injury,” he said. “You hear of guys who race two weeks later, you hear of guys who race two months later.”
The Giro runs from May 9-31. The Tour de France is July 4-26.
Lets hope he will indeed recover quickly. It would be awesome to see him compete in the Giro and to see him win it.
If he’s not at his best during the Giro, he’ll still be a force to be reckoned with in the Tour de France, by the way. It seems that the team leadership has convinced Alberto Contador, who won the Tour himself, that Armstrong wouldn’t truly hinder his chances of performing well.
