I Was Wrong

I was sure that Armstrong was going to ride for Team Columbia next year, because I thought he would need his loyal right-hand man George Hincapie to draft off of. Looks like I was wrong. According to Cyclingnews.com, Columbia has no interest in having Armstrong ride for them.

I'm not sure now where Armstrong will find a home. Most people are saying that he will go with Astana. I just don't see him there. While Astana does have all of the sponsors from Discovery and most of the staff, including (perhaps most importantly) Johan Bruyneel, Astana does not need Lance. Astana is arguably the strongest team right now. They won the Giro, they are on track to clean up at the Veulta, and the only reason they didn't dominate the Tour was because they were not invited. As much as he loves Lance, Bruyneel shouldn't push Contador aside so Lance can have one more run at the Tour. Contador is more than capable and an Armstrong - Contador showdown in the Tour would make for an exciting race.

The same can be said for CSC. They don't need Lance. They will (and should) be building their team around the Schleck brothers. Another powerhouse in the peloton, they certainly don't need Armstrong to have a chance at getting on the podium in Paris.

This leaves Garmin-Chipotle. Armstrong has said that he plans on making his drug tests available online. This screams of the anti-doping measures Garmin takes. The other plus is that Garmin is an American team. I mean can you really see Lance Armstrong racing for some wussy French team. While Garmin has generated some positive press around themselves, the presence of Armstrong would still greatly benefit them. They are also most likely to be invited to all of the races he is targeting. The only question is whether or not Jonathan Vaughters wants Armstrong on his team, and whether or not Christian Vandeveld is willing to be Lance's domestique again. This is the team I am leaning to right now.

Like the rest of the cycling world, I am waiting anxiously for Armstrong's press conference on Sept. 24 to see which team kit we will see him in next year.