It sounds like comeback cyclist Lance Armstrong will come full circle when he's finished with his return to the peloton.
On the eve of his return to pro cycling at the Tour Down Under, an interview published in Outside magazine reveals that he'd like to compete in an Ironman, and “I want to do it as fast as I can.”
Armstrong got his start in sports by excelling as a triathlete, which requires swimming, running and cycling. Biographies say he was a top-ranked triathlete in Texas, where he turned pro at age 16.
We all remember that he achieved greatness as a cyclist, but after winning his 7th Tour de France championship in 2005, Armstrong got back into running by competing in the occasional marathon (shown at right in his first New York City marathon in 2006).
Quoted
So with his return to cycling out of the way, the next big question has been will he ever do another Ironman? Outside magazine puts that issue to rest in the latest issue. Armstrong:
“Yeah. Whenever I'm done with this [comeback]. I can unequivocally say yes to that. That's a fact. And I get asked that question every day. I don't know when it was, less than a year ago, that I got some of these Ironman DVDs. I said, Let's see what that's all about. So we've been watching them for the past year. I'm definitely motivated to do an Ironman. We'll go back and I'll be close to 40, but I've swam more in the last three years than before that.
“And I don't want to just do an Ironman. I don't want to approach it like I approached the marathons. I want to do it as fast as I can.”
Marathon
Although Armstrong didn't win his three marathons, he did achieve his goal of running under 3 hours. Armstrong set a goal to beat 3 hours in his first New York City Marathon in 2006. He accomplished that with a 2:59:36 time.
In his third marathon — the Boston Marathon he raced in April 2008, Armstrong ran a 2:50:58. That was good enough for 496th in a field of 25,000 runners.
Hawaii
The Ironman Triathlon World Championships is held in Hawaii every year. To qualify, racers have to place in one of the two dozen or so Ironman competitions held around the world.
They consist of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run. The Age points out that when Armstrong trained for the Tour Down Under bike race in Hawaii, he attack the Queen K highway on the Big Island. That ride is a key part of the Ironman bike race.
With Armstrong's announcement, I doubt that current men's champion Craig Alexander of Australia is quaking in his running shoes. But with Armstrong's abilities on the bicycle, you can be sure that it will make the race interesting.
The Tour Down Under runs next Tuesday through Jan. 25; it opens with a Classic ride on Sunday. See the schedule and TV times for Tour Down Under.
Picture above from rob5408 at flickr.com.
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