On a cold evening in early March, Cyclingnews found six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong...
I think I'd rather be somewhere warmer. (Image credit: Tim Maloney)
Armstrong positive for upcoming Tour challenge
On a cold evening in early March, Cyclingnews found six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel team at Paris-Nice, in a two star Kyriad motel east of the French industrial burg of Clermont-Ferrand. It had been a stressful day for Armstrong, as the snow-shortened stage had been reduced to an hour of hard all-out racing, after which Armstrong had to go to medical control and arrived back at the motel late, tired and hungry. But after he'd had a bowl of soup and a shower, Lance Armstrong sat down with Cyclingnews European editor Tim Maloney for an exclusive chat.
Digging through my photo archives recently I found this image of Armstrong at the 2000 Tour de France prologue at Futuroscope. I spin my laptop round to show him the pic. It's less than five years ago, but the scene at a Tour de France stage these days would be very different.
Cyclingnews: Does this bring back any memories? Do you remember back in the day, when it wasn't a battle zone outside the team bus?
Lance Armstrong: Oh I was just gonna say... it looks pretty relaxed there! Yeah, it's gotten more hectic for sure, at the starts and finishes and hotels... just life in general. It's gotten more difficult (for me) to escape. The first reaction I had when I saw the picture was 'God, now I wouldn't be able to just stand there and give an interview, unless if it was three in the morning.'
