Tour De Lance is the title of a book by Bill Strickland on
Lance Armstrong’s comeback to the 2009 Tour de France. There were parts of this book that conformed
why I do not like him and parts that made me appreciate the good work he has
done. Some of the book convinced me that this guy would do anything to win, including
taking whatever drugs he needed to. If you are interested in high-level sport and the whole
culture that surrounds it then it is worth the read. The whole time I was
reading the book I got the feeling that the author was trying really hard to
justify liking Armstrong, at time almost being apologetic for his behavior and
at other times questioning what he was doing. I never got an answer as to why
he really came back to race. He had accomplished everything; all he could do was
tarnish his reputation and bring the specter of doping to the forefront again. Great champions are willing to acknowledge
others, Armstrong seems incapable of this. Lance comes across as a self-centered,
egocentric spoiled brat. He surrounds himself with people who enable him,
pretty sad. I think he and Brent Favre need to go off to a tropical island,
have a pina colada, tell each other how great they are and fade into the sunset. You need to know when to hold em and when to fold em.
