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Following Armstrong's retirement after his 2005 Tour win, cycling's investor drawing power dipped. It fell further after Floyd Landis's positive drug test in the 2006 Tour - the ''winner'' was duly stripped of his title - and a string of other doping scandals. The Tour, however, continues to make a profit, according to a recent report on VeloNews.com. The announcement of Armstrong's comeback at the 2009 Tour Down Under in South Australia gave the sport - and the Tour de France - a huge boost. That news prompted many investors and sponsors to reopen their chequebooks.
Armstrong today finds himself under scrutiny because of a US Food and Drug Administration investigation sparked by doping allegations last year by Landis, a former teammate. The announcement in late 2008 spurred the sport - and the Tour de France - attracting worldwide interest. Quantifying the value of his decision to race again is difficult. The Bloomberg news agency late last year reported a financial assessment by the Tour's owner, the Amaury Sports Organisation, showed that group turnover in 2009 increased by €32 million ($41.6 million).
But as VeloNews.com pointed out, ASO owns other organisations and events, including the French daily newspapers L'Equipe and Le Parisien, the Dakar motor rally, the French Open golf tournament and the Paris Marathon. VeloNews.com said the Dakar Rally particularly helped to boost ASO's revenues in 2009. The event was cancelled in 2008 due to the threat of terrorism, and shifted in 2009 to a new route in South America.
Armstrong realises that, and certainly has not valued his comeback to the Tour in 2009 at €32m ($41.6 million). He does believe, however, that the 2009 race won by Spanish arch rival Alberto Contador, when Armstrong, then 37, placed third, helped lift interest in the three-week event. "ASO is really a parent company of a lot of different events and media properties," Armstrong says. "There is some debate if Dakar's return to profitability affected that. But that tension between Alberto and me - while certainly uncomfortable for he and I - was probably good for ratings and for worldwide interest. That can't be denied."
Spyns certainly saw a marked increase in Tour de France package tour business in 2009 and 2010. While demand remains strong for our 2011 Tour de France trips, clearly we have moved beyond the waiting lists and Lance mania that marked his comeback. How much value Armstrong is to Australia's Tour Down Under has also been open to debate. His appearance fee, put at $1m to $2m, has been criticised by some parties but the South Australian government, which owns the race, has argued that his presence has been a massive financial coup. It estimates his visit last year injected $41.5 million into the state economy. Either way, with this year's event his last bike race outside the United States, opponents, supporters and even Armstrong can prepare to close a chapter.
Armstrong will arrive in Adelaide on his private jet early next week from Hawaii, where he has been training since a recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the coalition armed forces there.
That trip set his preparation back a little, but since being in Hawaii he is confident of honouring his adieu to international cycling. ''Obviously I didn't have a bike with me over there [in the Middle East]," he says. "I tried to compensate by doing some running and some other things, but I've managed to catch up a little here. The weather is amazing and the riding is very difficult. I've built up a fair amount of cardiovascular conditioning because of the amount of cross training I've been doing."
Armstrong admits he is a mix of sadness and excitement - the excitement stemming from knowing his life is about to change. "It will be cool to go back Down Under and be in South Australia,'' he said. ''It was such a special start of this comeback a couple of years ago. It was bigger and greater than I ever thought it would be. It will be sentimental to be in a big time pro team field like that for the last time. But also - if my body holds up and I can attempt some other multi-sport events - then there's the start of something new.''
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
