The disgraced former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong has responded over Twitter to a provocative call-out by two-time Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack.
McCormack 40, who also won the International Triathlon Union World Cup Series in 1997, challenged Armstrong to a one-on-one race in the Texan's hometown of Austin.
The challenge appeared to strike a note with Armstrong who responded on his Twitter timeline last night.
"Hey @MaccaNow - if you're serious then gimme a call. Let's discuss," Armstrong wrote.
The challenge made by the Australian Ironman champion was issued in a video posted on Triathlete Magazine’s website.
"I read an interview recently, where he believed he could win the Ironman world championships," McCormack said.
"I'm like `hey man, you can't go and make those sorts of statements without backing them up - so if you really think you can win the Ironman world championships, come and race me.
"Let's go to the back of Austin - you and me - no-one around and let's race."
Armstrong is unable to compete against McCormack in an official event following the lifetime ban imposed upon him by USADA last year, but the unofficial backyard challenge that the Aussie issued would not break any rules.
Armstrong has a history of success in competetive triathlons. The Texan was ranked the number-one triathlete in the 19-and-under group for the Tri-Fed/Texas (later USA Triathlon) 1987-88 competition.
Last year, before his ban, Armstrong also won two Ironman 70.3 events in Florida and Hawaii leading to the comments that McCormack responded to.
Whether or not this race goes ahead, McCormack has pledged to keep competing in professional triathlons next year.
Armstrong on the other hand cannot.
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the question of who would watch this is surely irrelevant to the moral issue here. LA does differ from all the other riders mentioned above. USADA, WADA and now the UCI get that. I thought most cycling fans did to. I recommend the writings of David Walsh , or, more recently, the book wheelmen. This is written by and from the perspective of people who understand where the money went.
But what always get forgotten is that many other riders have become very rich by riding the wave that LA started, not to mention bike manufacturers, the UCI, and race organisers. Now Lance has been shot down, I don't see anybody offering to repay the (greater) portion of their riches that they would not have accumulated had LA not taken cycling to another level.
IMO, it is true that the american market and american methods of sports promotion generated new wealth in cycling. IMO that was/is a good thing, though others may have a different view. It also seems likely that cycling will survive the discredit brought upon it by LAs misdeeds.
But none of that can excuse the misuse of power and lies by LA during his period of dominance.
Should team sky and Chris Froome come to dominate in the same way as LA and his teams, it will be interesting to compare their respective legacies.
Who's to say Armstrong wouldn't just cheat again? Is anyone suggesting he'd race this one clean? Well there's a novelty.
Pedaling Cancer Myths
Lochlann Jain says Lance Armstrong sold myths not only about cycling but about cancer as well.
Take the word cycling out of the above and it sounds like every religion ever pedaled as the true word... It's time for this to move on.
The comment above about every other rider is spot on.
Let's be honest there is not a single person who would not watch this race. I will that is for sure. I will be honest, if they put it on pay per view I would still watch it.
I'd love to see this race, the sheer motivation to win from each contender would make it a spectacle indeed.
The attention whore rides again.
I wonder why the dolts that write this stuff don't start using:
The disgraced Alberto Contador, The discredited Shaun Kelly, The humiliated Rigobero Uran, The Shameful Schleck brothers, The disgusting David Millar etc
Before the cycling, way before all the doping, LA was regarded as one of the most promising young triathletes in the world. He went with cycling as there was simply better money and prospects.
I reckon it'd be worth watching... If you follow LA on Strava he's still putting in some world class runs and rides. You'd kind of assume he's not daft enough to be doping now but who knows?!
Unless and until LA has atoned for his crimes, spare him the publicity.
http://www.kqed.org/a/perspectives/R201312020735
this is perhaps the most damning indictment of armstrong; deliberately
miselling his medical story as a triumph of willpower and inserting
that conception into his sporting success- if you try harder, like i
did, you will not only survive, you may become a hero.
to sell such a lie knowingly( read its not about the bike if you
don't believe he knowingly lied on this subject) is just horrendous. its
not about the money, its about the false hope and expectations
LAs cancer was undoubtedly serious, but from diagnosis to cure was a
matter of a few months chemo, nothing to do with willpower, followed
by a year of recovery ( for which he was incredibly driven, a
remarkable personal feat). he then went on to win the Tdf 7 times,
himself and his team drugged to the eyeballs with a PR, legal and
charity machine that destroyed anyone who got in their way.
the more i try to develop some empathy for LA, the harder i struggle.
he was a myth maker as well as a liar. his obsession seems to have
been wealth, fame and power, using sport to pursue these aims.
Having been through it, I beg to differ. Willpower is VERY much needed.
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Lance is jumping at the chance because he loves to compete and that's been taken away from him.
subjectively, a patient recovering from any illness will associate their willpower with their recovery. Objectively, it plays little or no part. No doctor or carer would deny the role of subjective belief in providing hope and resilience to a patient who is suffering. But the fortitude with which suffering is endured is not related to the likelihood of achieving cure. Founding a multi million dollar charity on the basis that " living strong" will help you overcome cancer is pedalling a myth. Im sure he believed it, may be he still does. But it is a lie.
Presumably as this wouldn't be an officially sanctioned event by UCI or tri authorities, or subject to WADA testing, they could both take as many PEDs as they liked - no wonder Lance is interested
Agreed, definitely a testicle
Please please please, this has to happen. Purely from an altruistic and research driven angle of course
McCormack will, I suspect, thrash Armstrong to near death if this happens....
I wouldn't be so sure, Macca's strength is the bike so unlikely he'll take much out of Armstrong in his strongest leg., he's a good runner but was never one of the best. Macca would probably be first out of the water, I'd actually like to see it, would be a good race
Agreed. Definitely a spectacle.
Why oh why do people keep giving this bullying cheat the publicity he so craves?
"Let's go to the back of Austin - you and me - no-one around and let's race."
I wonder if he appreciates the irony of making this statement on the web.