Note: Date is changed — Aug. 21 – 23, 2009.
- Stage One – Friday 21st August – The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, Enniskerry to Waterford – 196km
- Stage Two – Saturday 22nd August – Clonmel to Killarney – 196km
- Stage Three – Sunday 23rd August – Bantry to Cork City – 184km
Versus broadcast schedule:
Stage 1: Friday, August 21st @ 6PM ET/3PM PT
Stage 2: Saturday, August 22nd @ 5PM ET/ 2PM PT
Stage 3: Sunday, August 23rd @ 4PM ET/ 1PM PT
See also: Sunday, Aug. 23 — Disappointing day for US cyclists;
Saturday, Aug. 22 — Tyler Farrar hat trick at Eneco Tour;
Friday, Aug. 21 — A couple of near misses by US cyclists.
It seems that Lance Armstrong is competing in more races during his comeback year than he ever did during his earlier career.
The 7-time Tour de France winner announced that he's scheduled to ride in the 2009 Tour of Ireland from Aug. 21-23. [Number of stages reduced from five due to the economy.] That would make the eighth pro cycling race for Armstrong this year.
The race precedes the LiveStrong Global Cancer Summit which is scheduled for Aug. 24-26 in Dublin, Ireland.
Armstrong embarked on his return to pro cycling after 3 1/2 years of retirement in part to draw worldwide attention to the fight to stop cancer. He has talked about the war on cancer and visited cancer clinics and research centers during this first two races this year — the Tour Down Under and the Tour of California.
CyclingNews quotes Tour of Ireland director Darach McQuaid:
“The massive, positive public reaction to Lance Armstrong's comeback to the sport in Australia in January and California in February indicate that by the time Lance arrives in Ireland next August, the interest levels will be at fever pitch. I am confident that we can provide Lance with a challenging course and via our global broadcast, promote his cancer message in over 140 television markets around the world.”
Italy's Marco Pinotti of Team Columbia won the 5-stage race in 2008 and is returned to defend his title.
Great Britain's Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia also is signed up on the 112-man roster. He won 6 stages at this year's Tour de France.
Here's Armstrong's tentative 2009 schedule, per Astana team director Johan Bruyneel via James Raia Cycling Examiner:
Tour Down Under, Jan. 18-25;
Tour of California, Feb. 14-22 — finished 7th
Milan-San Remo, March 21
Tour of Flanders, April 5
Tour of Trentino, April 22-25
Giro d'Italia, May 9-31
Tour de France, July 4-26
Tour of Ireland, Aug. 21-23
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