Update: To find out what kept Lance from winning the Nice Ironman, click here.
With the Nice Carnival’s King of Sports theme, it seems only fitting to share that 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will be competing in Nice to be the King of Sports, at the Nice Ironman, June 24th.
Retired from professional cycling in 2005, Lance has been getting kind of bored so he has recently taken up triathlons… but not just any whimpy triathlon: extreme triathlons. The Ironman is a sort of ultra-endurance competition for mega-jocks, where you start the day by swimming 2.4 miles/3.8 km in the open sea, followed by biking a mere 112 miles/180 km in the hills above Nice, and if that wasn’t enough, you then run, I’m not kidding, a full marathon: 26.2 miles/42 km.
Unimaginable for most mortals, this will, of course, be child’s play for Lance, who after vanquishing testicular and brain cancer, went on to smoke the grueling Tour de France 7 times in a row. He is widely suspected/accused of doping (how could any human do what he does?) but despite every test imaginable, they have never found a thing.
Did you know that Lance lived part-time in Nice (on rue de France) for many years? So he should feel right at home, and you might even see him around town in the lead up to the competition. One of his favorite training rides, by the way, is the Col de la Madone.
Photo courtesy Nice-Matin
Speaking of the Tour de France, the big news announced recently is that the 100th edition will be coming to Nice in July 2013! Starting on Corsica with 3 days of brutal mountains, the 4th day of the Tour will transition to the hills above Nice with the finish line on the Prom, and then the 5th day will start from Cagnes-sur-mer.
And to whet your palate for all this excitement, don’t miss the spectacular finish of the Paris-Nice bike race that ends on the Prom March 11…
Lance Armstrong photo licensed under creative commons, Wikipedia
