Cycling just wants him to go away
Lance Armstrong’s latest fundraising stunt has received a hostile reception by cycling authorities, but they admit the American cannot be prevented from riding this year’s Tour de France route for charity.
The doping cheat was approached by former England footballer Geoff Thomas, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2003, to take part in the ride in aid of Cure Leukaemia. The pair plan to complete each stage of the three-week race a day before the professional riders.
But cycling chiefs are not impressed by the disgraced seven-times Tour winner’s latest effort to rehabilitate his image following his lifetime ban from the sport, with UCI president Brian Cookson claiming he is being ‘completely disrespectful’ to the sport’s current riders.
‘Lance would be well-advised not to take part in that,’ Cookson said. ‘I’m sure Geoff Thomas means well, but frankly I think that’s completely inappropriate.
‘The charity justification was used quite a lot throughout Lance Armstrong’s career and that got us into a mess that is well documented now. There are other ways people can do good works and raise money,’ added Cookson.
The 43-year-old cancer survivor raised millions through his Livestrong charity to fight the disease but in recent times has expressed disappointment that his doping ban has curtailed his charity efforts.
But while Thomas has defended Armstrong’s planned participation in the cycle, plenty of others have come out against it.
@DickinsonTimes @GeoffThomasGTF Yeah, I mean it's not like @lancearmstrong would ever exploit something like cancer: "HOPE RIDES AGAIN."
— Paul Kimmage (@PaulKimmage) March 17, 2015
Despite their opposition, both the UCI and race organisers ASO have acknowledged there is little they can do to prevent the charity cycle going ahead.
