Lance Armstrong added the 2009 Amgen Tour of California to his dance ticket on Thursday, including the week-long race among his itinerary of Tour Down Under, Tour de France and Leadville 100.
Armstrong made the announcement at his appearance at Interbike International Bike Expo in Las Vegas. He had initially omitted any mention of the Tour of California when talking about his plans at the Clinton Global Initiative on Wednesday.
According to reports, 3-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond was on hand at the Armstrong's presentation in Las Vegas and asked pointed questions to Armstrong and Don Catlin, an anti-doping expert who will test and monitor Armstrong for an online biological profile.
Greg vs. Lance
LeMond has long been critical of the role doping plays in the sport of professional cycling. LeMond has testified against Armstrong in an arbitration hearing over whether Armstrong doped during his career.
At Thursday press conference, LeMond sat in the front row and was granted the first question, according to a report in VeloNews:
LeMond immediately brought Catlin’s methods into question, claiming that VO2 max, oxygen intake and power output can be used as indicators of whether a rider has used illicit performance-enhancing methods.
Catlin, whose background is in laboratory testing for banned substances, answered LeMond by saying, “that’s not my area of expertise.”
LeMond told Catlin and Armstrong that it might not be Catlin’s area of expertise, but it is an area that Australian researcher Michael Ashenden has studied.
Armstrong then cut off the questioning from LeMond. (VeloNews will update it's report on the heated exchanges in the press conference later in the day.)
California dreamin'
Next year's Tour of California will be the first for Armstrong, who retired from cycling in 2005. The California bike race started in 2006.
The race is adding another stage in 2009 and rolls out Feb. 14 – 22. Armstrong's presence is sure to add more interest to an already high-profile event that get a lot of attention of winter-weary cycling fans.
The host cities for 2009 Tour of California:
Stage 1: Saturday, Feb. 14 – Sacramento
Stage 2: Sunday, Feb. 15 – Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 3: Monday, Feb. 16 – Sausalito to Santa Cruz
Stage 4: Tuesday, Feb. 17 – San Jose to Modesto
Stage 5: Wednesday, Feb. 18 – Merced to Clovis
Stage 6: Thursday, Feb. 19 – Visalia to Paso Robles
Stage 7: Friday, Feb. 20 – Solvang (individual time trial)
Stage 8: Saturday, Feb. 21– Santa Clarita to Pasadena
Stage 9: Sunday, Feb. 22 – Rancho Bernardo to Escondido
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