Unless you have been off of the planet or in a coma the last few days, you are already aware that Lance Armstrong has announced that he intends to return to bicycle racing next season. It's not official yet, but more than likely he's going to reunite with his old partner in crime, Johann Bruyneel, on the Astana squad.



So what's up with this? Why did the guy who is the most successful American Tour de France rider of all time, financially set for life with plenty to do, decide to get back into the unending Soap Opera of ProTour cycling? And does he have a chance of winning again?

Can he win the Tour of California? The Tour of Georgia? The Dauphin? An eighth Tour de France? At 37?

Yup, yup, yup, and absolutely.

His age is being held agaist him by the "experts"? Bullshit. Being 37 is not a handicap in an endurance sport like cycling. There are many examples of older endurance athletes competing - and winning - at this age. Mark Allen came back to the Hawaiin Ironman at 37 after a year off and won his sixthworld title. Erik Zabel is still competing - and winning - on the cycling protour - and at the velodrome in the "off-season" - at 38.

While it's true that younger athletes can recover quicker,there has always been strong evidence that it takes several years of practice and competition before your body gets used to the demands of long distance racing, Unlike strength and power, endurance just takes time to build. Looking at the career of Lance Armstrong's Tour championships, one of his strongest years was 2004 at the age of 34. According to the scuttlebutt we get from friends and oldracing buddys we know in Austin, he has still been training hard, and the recent Leadville 100 race shows he can still bring it.

And unlike that race in Leadville, road cycling is a team sport. You can't win if you don't have a strong team. Assuming it's Astana,he will be joining a powerhouse that rivals the old "Le Train Bleu" of USPS. With Kloden, Levi, and Contador on the team, there will be no lack of riders to assume the role of "super-domestique" to help pull him up the high mountain passes and launch him to stage victorys. His time trialing was always top notch, from the time he was an oustanding junior triathlete through his entire procareer as a roadie. If he trains like we always has - a man possessed and consumed with attaining victory - then the time away isn't going to matter.

It may even have helped him. Competing in any sport at a high level these days is a year-round job. The stress of training year-round,travel, delaing with the press, dealing with finanacial mattrs, and balancing the regular "trivia of life" will wear you down. Having the time away from the sport gave him a chance to recharge himself mentally.

Poeple are also questioning "why"? Why bother when you own the record for most TDF wins, are financially set for life, and can do pretty much anything you choose with your life? Why bother with the high-stress life of Pro cycling?

Well, if you have ever been a competitive athlete, and been successful at a high level in your chosen sport, you already know theanswer to that one.

It's who - and what - you are.

When you are a professional athlete, and successful at a high level for a long time, it's no accident. Where you are is the product of alifetime of daily participation in your given sport. You train, you study, and you live the life. If you don't love it, are doing it because your parents want you to, or you just want the money, or just want the fame - you won't - and don't - last very long. Your chosen activity is a part of you -a very big part of you - and defines your life. Taking it away is a big loss. That's why age group competition is so popular. It gives us older boys and girls a way to keep training - and competing - when we are too old for open racing. It keeps us happy, beacusewe get to live the life we love doing what we love doing.

The man says he will race for free. I believe him. He wants to raise awareness on the Fight Against Cancer. I believe that, too. He hasn't said so, but his presence next year is going to be a huge shot in the arm for Cycling in the United States. it willsinglehandedly save the Tour de Georgia, sell a million more Treks, raise the number of USCF licenses, and make for some inspiringviewing on Versus.

Welcome back, Mellow Johnnie. All of us here in the shop missed you. The Tour hasn't had this sort of drama since you left:



The race, and cycling as a whole, needs you back.




Anybody want to buy an Astana kit?