Lance is set to announce his comeback plans this week, he will hold a press conference in New York while attending the Clinton Global Initiative on the 24th. There is a lot of speculation as to what team he will ride for next year. What I haven’t really seen in the media is the theory I have for what team I think he will be announcing that he plans to ride for on the 24th. My guess is that he will be announcing the formation of his own professional cycling team, Team Livestrong.
Here is why.
When Lance announced that he was preparing to return to professional cycling he said that it was needed to increase the global awareness for the fight against cancer. Having his own team named after his cause would certainly increase the awareness of the fight against cancer that he is leading.
Many speculate that he is going to ride for Astana again. Astana on the surface is the obvious choice. His friend and former Team Director Johan Bruyneel holds the same position at Astana. Additionally Astana is sponsored by Trek the bicycles that Lance has rode for all of his tour victories. You also can’t forget that Lance is a shareholder in Trek a privately held company.
Here is why Astana posses some problems. First and foremost Astana has too many GC contenders for the Tour already, Levi, Contador, Klöden. Second Astana may not be allowed entry into the Tour for ’09. They were not invited in ’08 and there are no guarantees for next year. Additionally the component manufacturer SRAM sponsors Astana. Lance is very loyal to the sponsors that stuck with him during his treatment for cancer. One of those sponsors was the component manufacturer Shimano.
