# Lance Armstrong 'comeback' - Looks like he is racing 4xWorld Ironman Champion!



## SGcyclist (19 Dec 2013)

Twitter feed from Lance Armstrong

This is one for the keen triathletes out there. If you haven’t been keeping up to date with this developing story, back in 2012 Chris McCormack called Lance Armstrong out to race (see below) and the topic was brought up recently by Bob Babbitt with ‘Macca’ in the build up to the Laguna Phuket triathlon - http://triathlon.competitor.com/201...laguna-phuket-interview-chris-mccormack_90711


It seems from Lance Armstrong’s twitter feed that we now have a race on our hands (nothing like a good social media storm to move these things along) but who is your favourite (comment below and let me know your thoughts). The current competitors are listed as follows:

*Lance Armstrong* - American former professional road racing cyclist. Armstrong had won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005 before being disqualified from those races and banned from competitive cycling for life for doping offenses by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2012. After originally being a triathlete before focusing solely on cycling, Lance went back to the sport once he retired from cycling. Before he was banned from competitive races he won 2 Half Ironman triathlon race in Hawaii – the second 70.3 distance event in 3:50:55. The same race having Greg Bennett and Chris Lieto finishing second and third in 3:53:41 and 4:05:55 respectively. Before he could qualify for the World Championships in the full distance (140.6km) he was banned. Lance’s full Ironman 70.3 record can be found here - http://www.runtri.com/2012/02/lance-armstrong-results-at-ironman-703.html

*Greg Bennett *- has won six World Cup titles, as well as being ranked world number one triathlete in 2002 and 2003. Bennett competed at the second Olympic triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He placed fourth with a total time of 1:51:41.

*Chris Lieto *-is a professional triathlete and the winner of the 2006Ironman Japan, 2005 Ironman Canada, and 2002 Ironman Wisconsin triathlons

*Chris McCormack *- is a two-time winner of the Ironman World Championship, winning the titles in 2007 and 2010. He is also the winner of the 1997 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup Series, the 1997 Triathlon World Championships, and the 2012 Long Distance World Championships.

FYI – John Ratzan is a Ironman Foundation Newton Running Ambassador

Thoughts? Remember form, possible race location/conditions, current sporting participation, rather than necessarily record.


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## fossyant (19 Dec 2013)

He can go crawl back under the rock he came out from ! Scum bag.


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## Crackle (19 Dec 2013)

I'm quite appalled that the tri-athlon world is taking Armstrong seriously, never mind organising a race. Have these people missed the fact that he's a banned sociopath, who's single-handedly done more to destroy a sport than anyone else in history (seemingly).


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## VamP (19 Dec 2013)

I guess that the obvious conclusion to draw from this is that the triathlon community endorses use of PEDs???


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## musa (19 Dec 2013)

Chances of drowning??/


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## Nigel-YZ1 (19 Dec 2013)

Who's blood will he be using?


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## MisterStan (19 Dec 2013)

musa said:


> Chances of drowning??/


Not enough sadly.


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## dan_bo (19 Dec 2013)

Crackle said:


> I'm quite appalled that the tri-athlon world is taking Armstrong seriously, never mind organising a race. *Have these people missed the fact that he's a banned sociopath*, who's single-handedly done more to destroy a sport than anyone else in history (seemingly).



That's triathletes for ya!


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## oldroadman (20 Dec 2013)

Now I understood that a ban was worldwide and applied to all international governing bodies. So perhaps "Ironman", who ever they are, are not internationally affiliated and simply don't care about running races with people who are permanently banned for being drug cheats. The great god money rears it's head, perhaps? Either way, it's an odd world out there.
Will the race officials (if they cover ITU and affiliated NGBs races as well) get told not to work on this piece of rubbish or risk losing their ticket?


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## totallyfixed (20 Dec 2013)

I suspect it might be more, any publicity for the event is good publicity, although I would think that in most other sporting arenas this would have backfired. I would love to know how many of his fellow competitors are happy about this.


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## oldroadman (21 Dec 2013)

totallyfixed said:


> I suspect it might be more, any publicity for the event is good publicity, although I would think that in most other sporting arenas this would have backfired. I would love to know how many of his fellow competitors are happy about this.


 See previous post, some people will do anything for cash. The best thing if it went ahead, is that it's ignored by media and right thinking people. In days of old, as a rider, you could get punished for taking part in "unregistered races" specially if suspended riders were involved. Or if you went off to foreign countries under an assumed name when that country was "off limits". Just like a former high ranking official, now looking for other occupations.


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## montage (18 Jan 2014)

Anybody who enters the same race is a scumbag as well


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## steveindenmark (18 Jan 2014)

The only reason he is remembered is that people on social media sites and forums like this won't bury his name. He remains to be famous by being infamous.

Steve


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## screenman (18 Jan 2014)

Worse than that they do not wear sleeves.


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## Mr Haematocrit (26 Jan 2014)

Looks unlikely as a number of high profile triathletes have bitched and complained about it. While LA still needs his ban reduced before being able to compete.

http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/spor...on-from-life-ban/story-fni2frsp-1226809345032


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## ufkacbln (26 Jan 2014)

Armstrong is being clever again?

Note how the article changes the discussion back to the reduction of the ban and the fact that he has a lot of information that people want.

He is simply putting his name back on the sporting agenda, and promoting his own ends


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