Lance Armstrong and the Amgen Tour of California are reported to be drawing huge crowds along the route, in spite of heavy rain and cold temperatures.
More than 100 people crowded around the Astana trailer in San Jose to see Armstrong preparing for Stage 3 on Tuesday. Thousands gathered along the route.
Ann Killion, sports columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, asked former coach Jim Ochowicz what makes Armstrong ride?
“It's not money, obviously. It's not fame. Lance always reaches for the next level and this is the next level. …
“He's more than a bike race. And his reentry has just amplified the whole thing. It feels better. It feels more fun. It feels different.”
There's also his desire to promote cancer awareness, and Killion writes, he might have been tired of all the celebrity gossip and wanted to do something he still had control over.
Fee
While 12,000 to 13,000 waited in the rain for the peloton to appear in Modesto, government officials in South Australia were being questioned about the reported $1 million fee paid to Armstrong for his participation in the Tour Down Under last month.
Political opponents claimed the fee was larger than first proposed and was paid to Armstrong, not his charity. The state treasurer responded that any fee was worth its cost in publicity.
You'd have to agree with the treasurer. Armstrong focused the sports world on Adelaide for a week in January. In addition to the 130,000 who showed up for his first ride, the race drew a lot of international TV and press attention.
Bloomberg news service reported Friday that Armstrong's appearance doubled the impact of the Tour Down Under on South Australia's economy — injecting nearly $25 million in the local economy.
Now it's California's turn for the Armstrong publicity bump.
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