That's the way this wheel keeps turning 'round

Watching American cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong cross the finish line at the end of the Tour de France’s tenth stage to re-take the leader’s yellow jersey last week it would have been hard to tell this was a man approaching the end of his professional career. However, that’s just what the greatest Tour rider in history intends to do on July 24th, the date after what he hopes will be his seventh consecutive win in cycling’s biggest even – hang up his wheels for good.

Cycling is in many ways an anomalous sport, and not just because its participants clad themselves in form-fitting Lycra; the thirty-two year Armstrong will walk away considered an old athlete in a sport dominated by those in their late twenties. More than simply an athlete that swings a leg over a bike, though, the Texan has become a symbol of hope to the cancer community for his 1997 battle with testicular cancer that moved into his lungs and brain. His Livestrong foundation, formed to advocate increased cancer research and awareness, sparked the colored wristband urge with their now ubiquitous yellow bangles seen on Hollywood stars and Olympians. Even Armstrong’s competitors in the professional cycling peloton wear them, in as much of a bow to his dominance as support of a worthy cause. Indeed, this column is an indication of how deeply the cult of Armstrong has penetrated the pop culture psyche of America in a way that no other person in what was until his emergence a sport wholly ignored by mainstream sports reporting on this side of the Atlantic. But what is the future of American cycling after Lance’s shadow has receded into the background – will the sport simply fade back into obscurity except on the Continent?

A handful of Americans are doing an admirable job of answering that question in the negative, gunning for the vacuum in the sport that Armstrong’s self-imposed withdrawal will bring. Greenville, SC resident George Hincapie, Lance’s lieutenant in the tour and teammate for over a decade won this year’s 15th Tour stage, the first win for a teammate of Lance in the big event since 1999. While George might not have the qualities of a Tour contender, preferring the harsh single-day races of April to hot July’s spent in France, it was a signal that an oh-so-American run at domination in yet another sport wouldn’t fold like a stack of cards come next year.

Two other Americans on different European teams built around them for Le Tour sit in its top ten currently – Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer and Phonak’s Floyd Landis, a former teammate of Lance. Another American, Tyler Hamilton managed fourth place overall in 2003, just a step away from the yearly podium on Paris’ vaunted Champs Elysees, and Leipheimer was 9th last year. With so many riders in their prime turning in continually improving performances, the future of American competition in Europe is bright. Like any other sport, cycling has its share of problems, like the fight against performance-enhancing drugs to battle, but unlike Major League Baseball or other sports we’re more familiar with, it is far ahead in sniffing out the cheats. Big results where it matters, like France in July, coupled with a thriving domestic scene means you should give the next cyclist you see out training a wide berth and a friendly wave – he might just be the next Armstrong.