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'It's a lottery' Armstrong thinks best chance will be in time trial
NEW YORK (AP) -- Lance Armstrong was sixth in the time trial and 12th in the road race at the Atlanta Olympics, respectable marks for a world-class cyclist but disappointing given his high expectations. What nobody -- not even Armstrong -- knew at the time was that he had a raging illness. Two months after Atlanta, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Four years later, Armstrong is a cancer survivor, a husband and father, champion of the previous two Tours de France and determined to hang an Olympic medal in his trophy case. "Lance Armstrong is going to the Olympics to win," said his agent and friend, Bill Stapleton. "Anything less than a gold medal will be a disappointment." The 28-year-old Armstrong has homes in Austin, Texas, and Nice, France. He's preparing for Sydney the same way he got ready for this year's Tour, by living at his home in France and training in the surrounding hills. A native of Plano, Texas, Armstrong grew up in the heart of Texas high school football country. Raised by a single mother, he competed in triathlons as a teen-ager as his love for bicycle racing grew. "It's ironic that one of the world's top cyclists grew up in the middle of football country," Stapleton said. "But Lance is very proud of his Texas heritage, and he loves football." Armstrong has raised the profile of cycling in the United States to the point where most American sports fans know who he is and what he has accomplished. His autobiography, released this summer, is a New York Times best seller. After his fight with cancer, Armstrong established the Lance Armstrong Foundation, aimed at helping patients manage and survive the disease. Yet his increasing visibility presents Armstrong with a problem in Sydney. Americans pay more attention to lesser-known sports like gymnastics, swimming and cycling when the Olympics roll around every four years, breaking from their regular diet of football, baseball and basketball. And while many around the world consider the three-week, 2,250-mile Tour de France the world's most demanding individual athletic event, it's just another bike ride to some casual sports fans in the States. After winning the Tour last month Armstrong worried that if he doesn't win a medal, Americans watching the Olympics will complain: "This guy's terrible. That Tour de France must be pretty second-rate!" Jim Ochowicz, the U.S. men's road cycling coach and another of Armstrong's close friends, warned against placing too many expectations on anyone in the 138-mile Olympic road race. "More than a little bit of luck is involved," Ochowicz said. "It's all about being in the right break and not having any mechanical problems. Plus, Lance won't be able to make a move without everyone else following him." Also, the dynamics of Olympic road racing are different from the European professional circuit. Each country in Sydney will have five riders, compared with the nine- and 12-member teams at the Tour. "That kind of race usually favors a strong one-day rider, and Lance has shown with his Tour victories that he's a strong rider over a longer period of time," said Sean Petty, U.S. Cycling's director of athlete performance. "If he's in a position to win it, of course he'll try," Petty said. "But I expect his workload and the workload of his teammates will be weighted considerably compared to the Tour." Consequently, Armstrong and other top riders like Jan Ullrich of Germany, Alex Zulle of Switzerland and Tyler Hamilton of Marblehead, Mass., are focusing on the 29-mile time trial, where riders leave a starting gate at intervals and ride for the fastest time. "In the Tour de France, the strongest man wins," Armstrong said last month after his Tour victory. "The Olympic road race -- I'm sorry, but it's a lottery. It will be much smarter for me to concentrate my training on the Olympic time trial, which I think I have a good chance to win." The road cycling events will be run a few days before closing ceremonies in Sydney. Win or lose, Armstrong is going to Australia to celebrate. The four-year anniversary of his cancer diagnosis is Oct. 2. "Of course," Stapleton said, "we're hoping that we'll also have an Olympic medal with us."
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