![Lance Armstrong's computer after his "Twitter Time Trial" with triathlete Chris Lieto.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/bc/5a/bc5a748bb3d60c393f4e74bdbb05e131.jpg "Lance Armstrong's computer after his "Twitter Time Trial" with triathlete Chris Lieto.")
Twitter was a buzz on Tuesday, February 16th. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and 3-time Ironman triathlon champion Chris Lieto (known for his fast bike splits) were challenging each other to a duel: a 14 mile time trial along the open roads of Hawaii. Here's how it went down.
Lance tweeted the following at 3:10 on Feb 16th: "Just passed @chrislieto going the other way. He was hammerin. Hey Chris, a little TT showdown on the Queen K tomorrow? You, me, and whoever."
Chris responded: "@lancearmstrong see u on the Queen-K! Will have to be after 8am cause I have to swim first. Flying out mid day. Give me a call."
Lance responded with 2 tweets: "Queen K Hwy TT Challenge. Tomorrow 9:30am. Start - Waikeloa Beach Dr to Kukio Nui Dr. 14 miles. Full gas. Take it easy on me @chrislieto."
And then Armstrong "named" the event: "This won't be a twitter ride. First ever 'twitter time trial'."
Lance posted a video just before the TT. Here's part of what he said: "...for the first ever "Twitter Time Trial" - a little showdown between myself - an old, retired, out-of-shape cyclist - and one of the fittest men in the world, Chris Lieto: second at the Ironman last year, fastest bike split..." Lance teased Chris because Chris skipped his morning swim to be ready for the showdown on the big island.
With a hearty tail-wind, Armstrong finished in 18:35, while Lieto finished around 18:50 (18:44 according to Lieto's twitter page). Armstrong averaged 56.4 kilometers per hour, which is 35 mph.
Armstrong seemed impressed with Lieto's performance. In a post-race video, Lance said, "for a guy that's used to riding 112 miles, 56 kilometers per hour is pretty fast..."
Do you think Lance was surprised? Did he think Lieto would be slower than that? Or was it just a friendly compliment? And I guess the big question is will Armstrong be able to out-bike Lieto when he does the Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2011 or 2012?
Here's the pre-race interview with Lance and Chris on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhvMhDKXj8k
And here's the post-race interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4fa7CE-Daw
Follow Steve on Twitter (http://twitter.com/steveinaspeedo) or on his blog. Follow Lance on Twitter here, and Chris on Twitter here.
Comments
And according to Bree Wee via Facebook, Lance's speed is all the more impressive when you take into account his massive support vehicle trailing him and blocking a large portion of that tail wind.
But what can these guys do in a Double IRON Triathlon (4.8 mile swim - 224 mile bike and capped with a 52.4 mile run). Can they hold up to the regulars that do these.
56.4 kph is fast but it isn't fast enough to cover 14 miles in 18:35. Based on the average speed and elapsed time from Lance's computer, they raced less than 11 miles.
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