I don’t usually post rumors, especially when they have nothing to do with Portland. But hey, this is Page Two so here goes…
Check out this story just posted by Joe Lindsey of Bicycling Magazine (whose work I really respect). He writes:
“As if Lance Armstrong’s return to racing weren’t already shocking, now comes a serious rumor that Armstrong is part of a consortium which plans to purchase the world’s greatest bike race and possibly replace several key top executives at its parent company.
In a short report in the Sydney Morning Herald, longtime cycling journalist Rupert Guinness writes that Armstrong and former UCI chief Hein Verbruggen are involved in a group which wants to buy not just the Tour de France, but the entire Amaury Sports Organization. Guinness cites no named sources, but the report includes several details which would indicate inside knowledge of the proposed deal.”
Wow. It would be astonishing for the Texan to have even partial ownership of bike racings most legendary event.
Read all the details over at Lindsey’s Boulder Report and stay tuned…
oh god. not that. *anything* but that. i cant possibly think of a worse nightmare situation for cycling. makes me sick just thinking about it.
Amaury is mediocre. Nice rumor.
amaury may be mediocre, but their races are truly great, and unlike the uci, theyre not in pursuit of total control of every aspect of cycling – and verbruggen in control of them is a terrifying thought. hes basically still in control of the uci, and in my opinion, anything putting him or the uci anywhere being judge, jury and executioner of cycling is 100% bad – hein presided over one of the most ass-backwards and even corrupt periods in the ucis history. armstrong being in on the deal doesnt sweeten it even slightly for me – theres enough single-minded, blindered arrogance at the organizing body/race promoter/governing body level of cycling already, and i would question how much of his motivation is simply to piss the french off.
ive not heard anything coming down the grapevine on this other than the stories jonathan cited, though, so im not feeling too nervous yet – but its still a scary thought. the uci seems willing to tell race organizers to shove off and swallow their protour idea any way they can, and this just sounds like another twist in that story – they dont have the $ to do it themselves, so why not pull in armstrongs seemingly bottomless pit of cash to crap on the biggest collection of historically significantly cycling events on the calendar?
this is all about spite, not the betterment of cycling.
Amaury has the kinds of political leanings that would make Fox news blush.
I remember a tour de france where Lance chased down a breakaway because Simeoni was in it and he had made doping accusations and Lance told the lead group that as long as they kicked Simeoni out he would go back to the peloton and let one of them have the stage win. Lance holds grudges like no one else, and I am not surprised that he is interested in buying the tour, if only to fire everyone who he feels has ever slighted him…
I’d sign this post, but then I’d be on his list too…
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