After another baseless accusation of drug taking against 7 time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, he hinted at returning to win the event for an 8th time.
He has now clarified his position. He won’t be returning from retirement.
This story at BBC News makes it clear that we won’t see Lance riding competitively again.
“Lance Armstrong has confirmed he is happy to stay retired and has no plans to go for an eighth straight Tour de France title.
The American cycling hero, who retired after his seventh Tour win in July, hinted at a return earlier this month.
But the 33-year-old said: “I am happy with the way my career went and I am happy with the way it ended.”
I don’t think he will ever silence the rumours but I reckon his record 7 wins at the world’s toughest sporting event will go some way to easing the pain.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading I won't be back? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
Americans make athletes heros in a hurry. All it takes is a couple of good games on TV and you are in. (Thanks to mass media) The lack of real heros, or real heros being reported on leaves a void. Most people can not or do not have the maturiy to handle being a hero.
American athletes believe they are above the rest of the world because of the money and hero worship and the ego that makes them better athletes. How do you keep that up or go to the next level? You take recreational drugs to deal with the stress or you take steroids to go beyond human strength.
I know in America there is a great distrust towards athletes now, especially baseball players. All of the sudden record books are suspect.
I know my wife really lost respect for Armstrong when he left his wife at the top of his game. She was there for the hard time and dropped during the good times.
If he never rides again there will always be a doubt. He has accomplished a beyond human feat. Did steroids make that possible?
Yeah… well he’s a legend in my book, and I have a cycling mate who’s only read 1 book – “It’s Not About The Bike” by Armstrong.
The story raises issues of what you do after you retire and how you handle it. It does take some time and effort.
Hi Rodney.
My children came to me after this was reported, and wanted to know my thoughts.
I told them that I don’t personally know Lance Armstrong, and I surely do not know the details of what happened in the laboratory when testing.
I am not sure I am with the same opinion as your first commenter. I am American, and I am not quick to make heros out of anyone. Lance is a regular human being like the rest of us, so are atheletes, musicians, actors… Perhaps I have an attitude that is not the norm.
In the end, I told my children that Lance seemed inspiring with this wins.
As for what he did to get there, and what happened with his marriage, we are not supposed to judge. That’s the Lord’s job.
I told my children THEIR job is to live right, choose not to take drugs, choose lifelong mates carefully..and that’s quite enough to keep us busy enough, not to worry about Lance.
I told them also that unfortunately that just because it is in the news, doens’t make it true.