Cycling legend comes back to racing.
Professional cycling’s biggest celebrity, and one of its
most accomplished riders may soon be shredding the asphalt on our local streets
in Santa Clarita.
Lance Armstrong has announced that he is returning to the
sport.
“I have decided to return to professional cycling,” he said
in a press conference. “The reason for this is to launch an International
cancer strategy, based on the fact that we loose 8 million people around the
world to this disease.”
VeloNews,
a competitive cycling website is reporting that Armstrong will participate in
five major races next year, including the Amgen Tour of California,
which will wind through Santa Clarita during stage 8 on February 21st.
Amgen, however, has not yet confirmed that Armstrong has
signed up for the race.
While Armstrong’s appearance in the race would certainly
bode well for tourism here in Santa Clarita, Jessica Freude with the City’s
tourism office says that it the event will be top notch even without him.
“We would love to see him race, and certainly he’s an iconic
cyclist,” she said. “But either way this 09’ race promises to be one of the
best yet, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Once Armstrong makes an official announcement about whether
or not he will be racing in California,
KHTS will pass that information along at hometownstation.com.