Lance Armstrong: Six Shooter

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Outside Magazine, July 2004

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2004 Tour de France: The Ultimate Guide
Six-Shooter (cont.)


	(Anton Corbijn)

Choose one: victory in the 2004 Tour or a gold medal at Athens.
That's easy. The Olympics are a great event, but the Tour is of far greater importance: It's the granddaddy. For me, there's only one bike race this year.

So you're not thinking about Athens at all?
Every day, when I go out on my bike and envision scenarios, it all has to do with the Tour. But don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that the Olympics is your corner bike race. I'm planning to go to Athens, but it's tricky timing. It's just two and a half weeks after the Tour, which is quite possibly the hardest period after a long race, because you're so tapped out. That's not really enough time to recover.

Last year, you won by a thread—just 61 seconds. Does that motivate you, remembering how close you came to losing it?
Oh, boy, that was a stressful three weeks—too stressful. Basically, I dodged a bullet. It was a bad year. So this year I hope to go back to the models of '99 through 2002.

What went wrong?
I had several crashes and also illnesses. I had all the problems known to man—stomach bugs, sore muscles, sore hips. I was suffering. And I think last year I was a lot more uptight.

"You don't get any stronger as you get older. But you learn some things. You become better with tactics, better as a leader, better able to handle the pressure of the race, especially when it goes poorly."

A lot was going on in your personal life, with your separation and, later, divorce from your wife, Kristin. That turmoil must have been a factor.
It's not fair to Kristin to say that it was the fault of a struggling marriage that I almost lost a sporting event. And, look, Kristin's still important to me. She's the mother of my children. We're in a good place now and communicating well. Helping each other out. That's going better and I'm happy for that.

And how are the kids handling things?
Really well. From what we can see, there's been no ill effects.

How are you different from the Lance Armstrong who won in '99?
Obviously, I'm an older rider, an older athlete. And as we know, you don't get any stronger as you get older. But you learn some things. You grow wiser, more patient. You become better with tactics, better as a team leader, better able to handle the pressure of the race, especially when it goes poorly.

Was the younger Lance more intense?
Probably he was a little more aggressive. But the rider I am today can still be very aggressive when I need to be. Even last year, when the moment came, when it was all on the line, I was absolutely aggressive. I can attack just the way I did ten years ago. That gene is still there.

You seem to be enjoying your success, but at the same time, your life seems insanely complicated. How do you hold it together?
It's not easy. The stress of the Tour, the pressure of having to manage the lifestyle of a five-time Tour winner—it starts to grind on you. The requirements of an athlete like this become a bit overwhelming. I wouldn't want to do it for the rest of my life, but I can see an end to it all.

So, then, are you retiring after this year?
This is the last year Postal will be our title sponsor. If the team continues with a new title sponsor, then I'll continue. If the team disbands, I'll most likely stop. Because then I'd need to go out and find a new team, new directors, new teammates, new equipment, new everything. It would be too much uncertainty—and, frankly, too much of a hassle. I love the people I'm around now. They're my friends. I don't think I'd be up for trying to re-create that.

What will your life be like when you're finished with all this?
I'm not making plans for post-cycling, not yet. But, believe me, my life will change drastically. I'll go from living the majority of the year overseas to spending most of my time in Texas with my kids.

Are your kids coming to watch the Tour?
Oh, yeah, to the end. The girls are two and a half. Luke's four and a half. He's old enough to understand what's happening.

Do you see Luke on a racing bike someday?
Whatever he wants to do, I would be totally supportive. If he wants to play the guitar or be a teacher or a lawyer, whatever. He's smart, so maybe he'll do something with his brain. It would be hard for him to race a bike, because of me.

Is Luke shaping up to be an athlete?
Like me, he doesn't have much hand-eye coordination. I was his soccer coach last year, and ... we got some work to do!

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