Lance Armstrong to return to Iowa to ride 2013 RAGBRAI
- 2 July, 2013
- Kyle Munson
Bicyclist Lance Armstrong, who began the year in a televised confessional with Oprah Winfrey in which he admitted to doping his way to seven consecutive Tour de France wins, has chosen a different yet familiar sort of hot seat this summer — a sweaty bike seat amid the Iowa corn fields.
Armstrong said Tuesday that he will return to our sun-baked byways this month for his fifth visit to The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. This would mark his first major public appearance since his mea culpa in January that reversed years of his impassioned denials and triggered scorn and lawsuits aplenty.
But he doesn’t plan to helicopter in and out on a quick, single-day jaunt.
Armstrong said that he and his staff from the Mellow Johnny’s bicycle shop he owns in Austin, Texas, will linger at least “three or four days” on RAGBRAI starting with the July 20 expo held in Council Bluffs on the eve of the ride.
This year’s 41st RAGBRAI, July 21-27, winds 406 miles from Council Bluffs to Fort Madison — the second-shortest route in the annals of the world’s oldest, largest bicycle touring event that was created by a pair of newspaper columnists.
“To be honest it’s not a statement, it’s not an experiment,” Armstrong said Tuesday from Aspen, Colo. “It’s just me wanting to go ride my bike with what in the past has been a friendly group of people that share the same interests.”
Armstrong was feted by huge crowds in 2006 during his inaugural RAGBRAI, in the immediate wake of his initial retirement from professional racing. Armstrong told reporters that year that while Sen. Tom Harkin had long lobbied him to join the ride, it was a group of cancer-stricken Iowa bicyclists who approached him during a dinner in Indianapolis whose pleas made the difference.
He most recently joined our pork-and-pie gauntlet in 2011 and flew all the way from Paris, France, to Carroll for the occasion.
The 41-year-old cancer survivor, stripped of his Tour de France titles by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), realizes that he returns this year as a much more controversial, humbled sports icon.
Armstrong told Oprah that he quit doping after his seventh and final Tour de France victory in 2005, but that has been disputed by a USADA report.
“I saw my son defending me and saying, ‘That’s not true. What you’re saying about my dad is not true,'” Armstrong said in the interview of what prompted his belated confession. “That’s when I knew I had to tell him.”
The logical, cynical reaction might be to lambaste Armstrong for taking advantage of our landscape of “Iowa nice” as the first rung on his long climb toward rehabilitating his public persona.
Armstrong himself admits that he’s simultaneously curious and insecure about how this first serious mingling outside of a handful of private charity events might unfold.
“I’m well aware my presence is not an easy topic, and so I encourage people if they want to give a high five, great,” he said. “If you want to shoot me the bird, that’s OK, too.”
He called himself a “realist.”
“I’m a big boy, and so I made the bed, I get to sleep in it.”
• 36 photos: Lance Armstrong on RAGBRAI
• Video: RAGBRAI director thinks Iowans will welcome Lance Armstrong back.
• Video: Armstrong does Q&A session during 2007 stop in Spencer
• Video: Armstrong on why he enjoys RAGBRAI
RAGBRAI Director T.J. Juskiewicz, who said publicly in January that Armstrong was welcome to return to RAGBRAI, said that Armstrong is no different than the 10,000 other bicyclists who ride annually.
“They have a great time here, and they want to return,” Juskiewicz said.
He added, “We are open to anyone that wants to come ride RAGBRAI.”
He did see the humor in what could become a bizarre international media stir as the church ladies in small town Iowa try to sell their homemade fruit pies.
“Who knows, we might get TMZ covering RAGBRAI this year,” Juskiewicz joked.
To be clear, RAGBRAI never has paid Armstrong a dime in appearance fees, although it’s an unwritten rule, Juskiewicz said, that all Tour de France champions — whether or not they have been stripped of their titles — ride for free.
Regardless, Armstrong has bigger financial worries. By some accounts he’s facing as much as $135 million in liabilities from multiple lawsuits leveled by the government, insurance companies and others.
“I’m committing to working through them,” he said of the lawsuits, “and whether it’s settling cases or whether it’s fighting some cases — because some have merit some don’t. But I’m commtted to the process and that’s probably as much as I would and could say about it. That’s a tricky area there.
“Unless you have $135 million you want to let me borrow, or have?”
Nike even has announced that it will let its contract with the Livestrong Foundation and those ubiquitous yellow wristbands expire next year — a deal that according to the Associated Press is responsible for about one-fifth of the $500 million raised by the cancer-fighting charity since it was founded in 1997.
Armstrong also has had to distance himself from Livestrong in one of the myriad complications of his scandal. He’s “not a part of that organization anymore,” he said simply, “and don’t see that in the near future.”
RAGBRAI then seems to provide Armstrong an oasis in which there’s “nothing set up, nothing coerced, coordinated, composed,” as he put it.
He also praised Juskiewicz as a “great friend and a great supporter through all this.”
“Dude, you learn a lot about people when stuff like this goes down,” Armstrong said. “The first 24-48-72 hours, you never forget those calls, and he was one of them.”
But Armstrong also insists that he doesn’t want special treatment. He’s “just a dude like everybody who likes to ride bikes and likes to drink beer and has made his fair share of mistakes — and that’s that.”
At least that will be that until the tires get dipped in the Missouri River at the start of the ride, and the high fives and bird-flipping begin in earnest.
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I’m extremely excited for Lance Armstrong to be riding on RAGBRAI this summer! RAGBRAI is an incredible time and everyone deserves to enjoy it! I know what he did was absolutely wrong, but if he wasn’t famous, no one would be making such a big deal of this like they all are. He did wrong, just like everyone in this world does. People make mistakes of all sorts, some learn from them, and some don’t. But Lance is certainly learning from it and that’s what matters most! I am honored to be riding my bike along with one of the greatest bike riders this summer! Welcome, Lance!
I will be one of the people that will look forward to sharing the road with him and if I have the chance, I will give him a high five.
Really? After all he has done, all the people he has sued, all the careers he was ruined, intentionally confusing the non–profit Livestrong with his for profit company Livestrong.com (basically, misdirecting poeple to put money in his pocket), he still needs the publics attention and won’t just go away. Why does RAGBRAI treat him still as a celebrity? Why?
Good decision Lance! No need to be ashamed!
Everybody used doping, but you we’re the best and trained hard for it! Still my hero!
I wish I could be there to ride with him.
It is a shame that cheating was so pervasive in professional bike racing. It hurt the sport and all of us who love bicycle racing. It obviously led to many other evils with the lying and legal actions which resulted from this illegal doping and trying to hide it. It is a horrible thing when honest, honorable people are hurt by others protecting their turf because these honorable people know and stand up for the truth. If Lance is truly apologizing publicly to all of those he hurt, then he deserves forgiveness. He also needs do what is right to make it up to those he hurt along the way. We should all forgive but we can’t forget. I will be happy to see Lance this year when I ride RAGBRAI with the CUBS. Perhaps he would like to join us in raising some money for Camp Courageous, which is a very worthy cause.
Perjury – Fraud
Took out insurance policies that would pay him if he won the tour de france. Cheated to win and then lied about it under oath to collect the money. He is now being sued by several insurance companies.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/cycling/2012/10/30/lance-armstrong-perjury-doping/1668765/
Paid competing riders to let him win so he could fraudently collect the million dollar price for winning all three races that were part of the triple crown
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-15/australian-legend-witnessed-armstrong-bribe/4312558
Being sued by the goverment for violating sponsorship agreements while he rode for the Postal Services cycling team
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikakelton/2013/02/27/u-s-vs-lance-armstrong-understanding-the-latest-in-the-floyd-landis-whistleblower-case/
Goes on two charity rides of 25 participates who raised $35,000 under the belief that all the money is going to charity. On tax receipts, the participates find out that Armstrong pocketed $10,000 out of each of the $35,000 donation. In effect, he collected 2 x 25 x 10,000 = $500,000 for doing two charity rides with 50 people total.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-860283
Non-profit is called Livestrong.org. Start for profit company called Livestrong.com. Confusion leads people to beleive that the for profit company Livestrong.com is involved in cancer “awareness” and purchases through this website support this.
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html?page=1
Blackballed
Mike Anderson ,former friend and bike bike mechanic blackballed after stumbling across Lance Armstrong’s dope
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/road-biking/My-Life-With-Lance-Armstrong.html
Sued and slandered fromer massage therapist Emma O’Reilly after talking with David Walsh about team doping
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/sports/cycling/lance-armstrong-aide-talks-of-doping-and-price-paid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Forced Lemond to apolize and had Trek end their partnership with Lemond Racing Cycles after Lemond questioned Armstrong association with Dr.Ferrari, a known doping doctor.
http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/greg-lemond-vs-the-world-20130318
Frankie Andreu lost jobs in cycling and was basically blackballed comments he made about EPO use while he rode with the Postal Service cycling team
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/sports/cycling/tyler-hamilton-lance-armstrongs-teammate-describes-doping-system.html?pagewanted=all
Banned
Now has a lifetime ban from competitive sports in large part due to his complete refusely to cooperate with USADA in their doping investigate. Former Armstrong’s teamates, cooperated completely to mitigate their punishment and help change the culture of the sport. Armstrong had no interest in cooperating to mitigate his punishment and bring change to the sport.
Gotta love the guy:
Goes on two charity rides of 25 participates who raised $35,000 under the belief that all the money is going to charity. On tax receipts, the participates find out that Armstrong pocketed $10,000 out of each of the $35,000 donation. In effect, he collected 2 x 25 x 10,000 = $500,000 for doing two charity rides with 50 people total.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-860283
What a great guy:
Took out insurance policies that would pay him if he won the tour de france. Cheated to win and then lied about it under oath to collect the money. He is now being sued by several insurance companies.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/cycling/2012/10/30/lance-armstrong-perjury-doping/1668765/
Even the government loves him:
Being sued by the goverment for violating sponsorship agreements while he rode for the Postal Services cycling team
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikakelton/2013/02/27/u-s-vs-lance-armstrong-understanding-the-latest-in-the-floyd-landis-whistleblower-case/
Why won’t this guy away? I’ll avoid him like the plague. People are either quick to forget his shenanigans or never cared in the first place.
It is not surprising that Lance is using RAGBRAI,to rehabilitate his image. He is a user. He has used everyone and everything throughout his career to advance his own power, fame and wealth. The lies, cheating, betrayals and bullying are merely his means to his ends.
We RAGBRAI riders are nice people. We tolerate a lot of obnoxoius behavior on the roads, in towns and in camps. RAGBRAI is too much fun to let a few jerks spoil the overall beauty of the week. Having one more jerk, who happens to be a celebrity, on RAGBRAI is not a big deal.
If I run into Lance, I’ll probably say “hi” and get a photo op, just like with anyone else I encounter.
I am excited to support Lance on Ragbrai. Regardless of the scandal, Lance is still an American hero. Don’t forget about the millions of dollars Lance raised for cancer research. Chances are you all know someone who has been affected by Lance’s efforts off the bike. Lance has come clean, we all know he used steroids, but before jumping to conclusions consider all he has done for the world. Life is not about the bike.
I’d rather ride with a true American hero like Greg LeMond than a serial liar and doper like Lance Armstrong. I knew Armstrong was lying years before he confessed to Oprah.
I simply love this machine!
Glad Lance is planning to make it this year. A high five from me!
The bird he shall receive.
Shame! Shame! Shame! L A is the worlds biggest cheater. Ever! Shame on you! He has destroyed so many peoples lives. Turn the back on this bandit! Is this the kind og of man the US want to be pride of? Forget him!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Lance Armstrong coming to Iowa for this annual bike ride is NOT acceptable. I am shocked to see how many people in this column are condoning his behavior!! I can’t believe Dopey Armstrong would even be able to show his face at ANY bike events ever again or even look at himself in the mirror, but that just shows what an egotistical *** he is with no conscience. He’s a fraud, a disgrace and a scumbag!! STAY AWAY LANCE!!
Lance Armstron was only as good as the drugs he used. Had drugs not been involved we would be seeing much different people on the podiums. I would be happy to shake his hand and tell him “Your only as good as the drugs you used and the lies you created”
I am sure all of the haters are “perfect” people. 500 million dollars was raised for cancer research. I don’t care how many lies he made, how many lives have been saved because of the 500 million dollars? Cancer sucks, at least he did something to help people beat it. Two high fives from me.
I am so happy to see Lance come out of the shadows and hold he’s head high after a horrible year. Yes, us Iowians just like to have fun and have fun……………life is too short and Lance sure knows that because when u get a diagonoises like cancer u have to live day by day………….Rock on Lance!!!!!!!!!!
lance siempre sera mi idolo, lance armastrong eres el mejor por siempre!!
I think it’s great that Lance is riding in RAGBRAI. A lot of people make mistakes in their lives and this was one of Lance’s. He is still a great guy and is always welcome in Iowa. I wish I was doing the ride this year and had a chance to shake his hand. Keep up all your good work Lance, and remember to LIVESTRONG!
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