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ARMSTRONG'S CONTROVERSIAL FAREWELL
Lance: Down Under and its over
The Tour Down Under is where the comeback began two years ago, and it's where Lance Armstrong will answer his final curtain call (no, it really is the last one this time) later this month.
Armstrong will then leave international professional cycling and will wait to see which direction Jeff Novitzky's investigation takes.
The signs have not looked good for Armstrong since his former team-mate Floyd Landis went public with damaging allegations of doping in the US Postal Service team.
With Sports Illustrated and the Sunday Times understood to be planning in-depth articles to coincide with the race, Armstrong faces a battle to preserve what is left of his legacy.
And yet Armstrong will likely receive a hero's welcome and send-off in Adelaide, a city with a government only
Aussie curtain call awaits for Armstrong too happy to make the most of Armstrong's celebrity status while ignoring the allegations against him.
The local government came under fire for paying Armstrong a large appearance fee, the size of which was unconfirmed but was said by some to be in the region of $ 1.5 to $ 2m
Aussie curtain call awaits for Armstrong
"Having Armstrong on the start line is a coup"
when he raced at the Tour Down Under in 2009.
Tour Down Under organiser Mike Turtur said he had no qualms about having Armstrong in the 2011 race. "We're in a business here," he said. "As well as a bike race, this is a tourism event which is designed to bring people to South Australia and increase economic activity. When you're running a business, you look at things that work and are proven and deliver. Having Lance Armstrong on the start line is a major coup."
Many do not share Turtur's view. The mood of the mainstream media in the United States has altered since Landis aired his allegations, with the Wall Street Journal and New York Times leading the way with articles that seriously undermine the legitimacy of Armstrong's seven Tour de France wins.
As Cycle Sport asked last summer: is it all over for Lance?
It is now. After January 23, he will no longer be a pro cyclist. Then the work of re-evaluating his career can begin to sort the myth from the reality.
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