If you live in Kansas City, no doubt you have heard of Livestrong Sporting Park, home of the Sporting KC professional soccer team. Livestrong is everywhere and in all major sports, and so is Lance Armstrong by association.
This past Sunday, Armstrong came in second place overall at Ironman Panama 70.3. He’s here to win. Like Chris McCormack, Armstrong makes no excuses for his competitive nature and drive to succeed. Whether it’s cycling, kicking cancers rear end and now at triathlons, Armstrong is here to win.
He’s made a huge splash by FINALLY making it official about his plans to race Ironman Kona and followed that up by coming in second in his first 70.3 race as a pro triathlete. This after a couple of decades off from the sport as a pro. Not bad.
In all the hubbub, in some corners, triathletes and fans of the sport are questioning the positive or negative impact this will have on the sport of triathlon. No bones about it, Lance has brought A LOT of eyes, ears and TV cameras to the sport in just a week. What’s going to happen if he qualifies for Kona and races? Let’s look at some pros and cons for Armstrong in triathlon.
- PLUS - He brings more notoriety to the sport. EVERYONE knows who Lance Armstrong is and every got that he was a pro cyclist. A smaller population knows what order you swim, bike and run in a triathlon, or even know what three events make up a triathlon. I bet after this weekend, a LOT more people know what a triathlon is.
- PUSH - With notoriety comes money. Sponsors and TV deals are sure to follow. It’s good to have funding and more money to go around, but with money come higher stakes and more pressure and a breeding ground for corruption and cheating.
- PLUS – Livestrong and Armstrong go hand in hand. He’s bringing a monster charity to a new playing field and building a bigger army. You cannot argue that more funds for cancer research is not a good thing.
- MINUS – Armstrong has been long known to be rouge with a bigger than life personality with an attitude, and not a good one. Already documented is his debatable “snub” of Ironman Panama winner post finish line. Some have made a big deal about it and some have noted he came back later to offer congratulations.
- MINUS – Controversy. Armstrong will never escape the skeptics about doping, regardless of how many times he defends his innocence. He’s also followed by that competitive stigma that he’s less than cordial with his competitors. It’s also documented that he may not be the best of “losers”, if you consider second overall a losing spot.
- MINUS – Perception for those that race on the Big Island is that must pay some dues. Race a few times and gain some appreciation on what others have done to get to the top spot. If Armstrong races and wins the first time he tries, what’s the perception in the sport? Did he pay his dues? Does anyone care?
- PUSH – Greater competition. Lance is on a whole different level. If you win 7 Tour De Frances, you’re doing something right. Most of us go to a day job and maybe sit at a desk or walk around all day, Armstrong’s job is to work out. He organizes bike tours for Livestrong and races for the organization to gain recognition. He’s “got nothing better to do” than to train and find new ways to get better. The down side is that if Lance is out taking top spots from experienced pros that depend on winnings to live, Armstrong is “taking food from their mouths”. Does he really need a couple thousand from placing compared to other pro triathletes?
- PLUS – Remember those other well recognized pros like Chrissie Wellington and Chris McCormack? They decided to pursue other interests and left a void in the sport at the pro level. Bam, here’s Lance and suddenly, we have someone else to watch.
- PLUS – He’s proven at the federal level he’s got nothing to do with doping in the Tour days. They dropped the investigation and he is once again out of the limelight. He wins on natural ability.
- PUSH – Will they all be this easy? First event back and he gets second overall. Will it be a cruise to a Kona qualification? Will stronger runners continue to edge him out, or will he find that last link in the puzzle to put it all together? At least there’s some conversation to be had instead of Armstrong winning by 30 minutes in his first race back.
- MINUS – Money is no object. He flies a chartered jet where a lot of pros fly commercial. They have the stress of packing bikes and gear and hoping everything comes through unscathed. Lance can just toss his ride in the passenger seat and head to the race. Money isn’t everything, but it alleviates a lot of race day stress. Ever stayed in a crappy motel to save money to race an Ironman? How did you sleep on that bed with hair still on it and a shower with mold in it? I doubt Armstrong has to worry about that.
Lance Armstrong coming back to triathlon can’t be a bad thing. Along with the pluses, he will bring some minuses. Everyone in the sport has drawbacks, but Armstrong’s are larger than life. Add some TV cameras and you magnify the negatives. No one can argue he will up the level of competition and set a new standard to which existing pros must race to. Hopefully he gets triathlon to a new pinnacle without turning it into a circus side show.
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