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Hometown hero Austin prepares for a repeat victory from Armstrong
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Gorillas are wearing yellow. Lance Armstrong must be near another victory at the Tour de France. The cyclist's adopted hometown, where the orange of the University of Texas Longhorns usually rules, is gearing up to celebrate again as Armstrong pedals toward a second consecutive championship this weekend in Paris. In one residential neighborhood, a 5-foot-tall, 3,500-pound concrete garden statue of a gorilla is a drive-by eye catcher, sporting a yellow jersey in honor of the tour leader and wearing sunglasses. A racing helmet sits atop its watermelon-sized head. "We're actually not huge sports fans, but we admire Armstrong a whole lot, and when you've got a gorilla like that, you decorate it any chance you get," said the owner, plastic surgeon Jim Fox. "He looks kind of buff in the yellow." Headlines in the local newspaper tout Armstrong's lead every day, and banners urging him on to the finish line hang from buildings. But unlike 1999, when Armstrong shocked the sporting world with his remarkable comeback from testicular cancer, a victory in 2000 was expected. "It's not quite as rabid as last year," bicycle shop owner Hill Abell said. "We all started the tour this year believing he was going to win, no ifs, ands or buts." Even so, cycling enthusiast Charlene Postell watches the race highlights every evening and gets annoyed when she's interrupted. "This year it's in your face because of the way he was treated by some of the people over there," she said, referring to French media who had suggested Armstrong's 1999 victory was somehow tainted by drugs. Postell marvels at Armstrong's ability to cruise through the mountain stages of perhaps the world's most grueling athletic event. So much so that she was shocked when, on Tuesday, Armstrong lost nearly two minutes of his lead. He still leads the race by more than five minutes with three days of riding left. "The nearest we can figure is he's an alien," she said. "It's almost superhuman what he does. That's why we couldn't believe he struggled." Armstrong has a house in France but calls Austin his stateside home. His return here last year prompted a hero's welcome, with a downtown parade in his honor. City officials say a victory parade is being planned for July 28, but the timing could be tight. Karl Haussmann, director of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research, said that if Armstrong holds onto his lead through Sunday's final stage, he's expected to hit the talk-show circuit, then go right into training for the Olympics in Sydney. At least some of the Texas celebration has already traveled to Paris. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, himself a testicular cancer survivor, is vacationing in France and plans to be at the finish line of the Tour's final stage in Paris. Like last year, Armstrong's ride has created a flood of donations to his cancer foundation, Haussmann said. The biggest difference is that calls from curious media seeking to tell the story of Armstrong's remarkable recovery have tapered off. "It's not as novel of a concept as it was last year. You don't see people coming from the deep, dark corners looking for the story," Haussmann said. Armstrong's ride has created a boon for retailers. Abell said his shop has seen a 50-percent jump in sales over the last month, with many families fueling the fantasies of children dreaming of riding through the French Alps wearing a yellow jersey. "The kids are coming in saying, `I want to be the next Lance Armstrong,'" Abell said.
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