One of the hottest match-ups for the coming year -- Lance Armstrong vs. Floyd Landis at the Leadville 100 -- has apparently fizzled out.
Armstrong announced at The Paceline website that he will not be racing in the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race on Aug. 11, 2007, as previously indicated due to a "scheduling conflict." (I would probably have a "scheduling conflict" too if I knew my ass was going to be handed to me as the entire world looks on) Lance is THE MAN but he is not a mt. biker. We saw what happened the last time he tried to race mt. bikes competitively. It wasn't pretty.
It will be interesting to mark that date on our calendars just to see what the "scheduling conflict" is.
Meanwhile, VeloNews reports that Landis's appearance at the mountain bike race is questionable. The event is one of the sanctioned events of the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA), and race organizers would have to give up that sanction if Landis is suspended from pro cycling for doping. Earlier at CyclingNews, race director Ken Clouber said Landis would be welcome to compete in the race.
Landis announced his interest in riding in the event less than 10 days ago, raising lots of speculation about how Landis, a former mountain bike competitor, would do against Armstrong, who has cross-trained on a mountain bike.
The Colorado bike race puts some 750 competitors on a 100-mile out-and-back course with elevations ranging between 9,200 and 12,600 feet.
