w morning, the 96th edition of the Tour de France will kick off in picturesque Monaco, a country known as much for it's beauty as it's billionaire residents. Yet tomorrow morning, all eyes will be on the 120+ lycra-clad pro cyclists hailing from all corners of the world, speaking every language imaginable, all with the single ambition of performing well in what is unquestionably the largest event in professional cycling. The Tour de France is the World Cup, the Super Bowl, and the seventh game of the World Series all rolled into one. Fifteen years ago, road racing in the American sports media was merely an afterthought; something relegated to a blip on the bottom corner of the back page of the sports section. Much like soccer, it was far more popular in Europe than it could ever be here in the United States. Indeed, abroad cycling can draw 500,000 people to line the roadside of a 100 mile race during one of the cobbled spring classics in the rainy months or early spring, just as it can pack an 80,000 seat stadium for a star-studded track and field meet. The concept and appreciation for sports is simply different for our European counterparts; not better, just different, and this difference was highlighted perfectly by the contrasting European fanaticism and American ambivalence when it came to cycling.
All of this changed ten years ago, with the emergence (or rather reemergence) of a young American cyclist by the name of Lance Armstrong. At 21, he was the youngest winner of the World Championships, with a then-hulkish physique of 174lbs. He pumped his fists as he soloed across the finish line in the rain in Oslo to take the rainbow jersey to the delight of his mother and to the confusion of European fans. Touted as a future star of the sprints and the aforementioned one-day classics, Armstrong was fielding offers from endorsers and teams for what would amount to a healthy seven-figure contract. Ultimately, he signed with French outfit, Cofidis. In Lance parlance, he had the world by the balls.
All of this changed, in the blink of an eye and the reading of an MRI. Armstrong's malaise and lethargy was due in fact to cancer which had spread to his brain, abdomen, testicles and which was metastisizing in his lungs. It was a veritable death sentence. As a man who's father got that same sentence and served it accordingly, I have an astute appreciation for the long-odds that Armstrong beat in merely surviving the death grip that cancer had on him.
The story writes itself and it is one that others have written far more eloquently and elaborately than I can convey within the context of a single posting. Armstrong's seven consecutive victories in the Tour de France is a record that may never be broken by a healthy rider in this or any era; much less by a rider who overcame the crippling, unforgiving nature of cancer as Armstrong did.
In a period where words like hope and change have been overused in the United States, Armstrong, was indeed the messenger of hope for millions of men, women and children struggling with this illness worldwide. His decision to come out of retirement last fall (chronicled in a previous DLE Sports blog entry) was predicated upon his desire to spread the message of the Livestrong brand and to apply pressure to foreign leaders to increase their cancer research and development budgets. His campaign has produced mixed results. To the uneducated, there was shock and disappointment that Armstrong didn't come out and win races immediately, despite a four year hiatus from the sport, coupled with the fact that he left as the oldest person to ever win the Tour. Now, he is one of the oldest men in the peloton. Period.
Then again, this is what we expect from our champions. Perfection.
Jordan came out of retirement and had a puzzling stint with my hometown team here in DC, the Wizards. Mohammad Ali hung around too long and many wonder whether his brain trauma might have been mitigated had he retired after the famous Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman. Even now, Brett Favre is mulling a second comeback, possibly with the Minnesota Vikings, to the delight of very few fans.
As an Agent, I understand the marketability of someone like Armstrong. He is in a class all his own. Tiger. Beckham. Federer. Armstrong. But money isn't the question when it comes to Lance's decision to return. He says it's for cancer and was promulgated by watching what he described as a weak field last at last year's Tour. (It's also important to note that he is not drawing a salary and is in fact racing for free...though there have been reports of race appearnce fees, but like a lot of other things surrounding Armstrong, this is unconfirmed.) His detractors say that it's his insatiable ego that simply can't stay away from the limelight and that with four years away from the Tour, it needs another feeding. I tend to disagree with the latter point of view. While it's true that every successful athlete has an air of confidence, often mistakable with ego, this is what gives them their edge and in many ways, it is the psychological key to their performance.
An Airborne Ranger doesn't jump, hoping that his chute is going to open. He knows it will because he packed it himself and they are trained to be the best.
A neurosurgeon doesn't go into a complex 12-hour procedure hoping he can make something work. He knows he can, because he is trained to be the best and that's what he expects.
An MVP doesn't toe the line with a one and one and no time left on the clock, hoping to make one of them to send the game to OT. He knows he will because he shot free throws long after everyone left the gym, since he was in elementary school. Everything he's done has lead him to this point. He will succeed, because that's what he's trained to do.
In the ethos of sports personalities, this is the confidence of champions. Armstrong is no different. Whether he wins the Tour this year or rides in support of a younger, stronger rider like teammate, Alberto Contador; Lance's legacy is secured. He is a champion of champions. The accusations of drug use will persist throughout eternity, but until he fails a test, they are just that: accusations.
So here's hoping that at 37, Armstrong finds the legs he did when he won his first of seven Tours, in 1999 at the age of 27. The more important place, however, is the place that Lance Armstrong will occupy in the minds and hearts of millions of people across the world that are fighting their own private battle with cancer. For those of you who have never seen a small, bald, child holding a chemo tower, too weak too move, too tired to cry, you will never fully appreciate the depth or breadth of Armstrong's impact.
As he says in the closing lines of Nike's newest, brilliant advertisement: he's not doing this for the fans or the detractors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90DwfEGX5-Q
I believe him.
Good luck, Lance. Ride well. Fight hard. Live strong.
Doug Eldridge
President
DLE Sports
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