Landis-Armstrong might duel in state

Brian Metzler, Special To The Rocky

Saturday, July 14, 2007

The much-anticipated showdown between Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis at the Leadville 100 mountain bike races appears to be back on.

Race director Ken Chlouber on Friday said Armstrong was in Leadville recently to ride a portion of the course with longtime Colorado Springs-based coach Chris Carmichael and believes the seven-time Tour de France champion will ride in the Aug. 11 race. Landis confirmed last month that he plans to participate.

"They rode the course and Chris called me that night to talk about it," Chlouber said. "I think it would be great if Lance came to the race, and after talking to Chris, I think he's probably coming."

A story posted on Bicycling Magazine's Web site Friday also said Armstrong will ride in the race.

Carmichael recently wrote a blog on the Carmichael Training Systems Web site about the recent Leadville training ride, which covered about 45 miles, but he didn't say if Armstrong would participate.

"For the record, Lance is not only quite fit, but he's also very good on a mountain bike," Carmichael said in the blog.

Armstrong announced in November that he planned to ride in the Leadville race with Carmichael and other friends. But in late December, two weeks after Landis said he also would enter the race, Armstrong cited a scheduling conflict and backed out of his original commitment.

Armstrong said Thursday at a news conference for the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament on the shores of Lake Tahoe this weekend that he had been doing a lot of mountain biking the past three weeks in Idaho and Colorado.

He also is scheduled to be in Colorado Springs on Aug. 9 to give the keynote address at the inaugural fundraising celebration for Kids on Bikes.

Landis, the embattled 2006 Tour de France champion, is waiting to hear the results of his mid-May doping hearing with a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency arbitration panel.

After his decisive win in the Tour's 17th stage last year, Landis allegedly tested positive for a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone and synthetic testosterone. He repeatedly has denied any wrongdoing.