Lance Armstrong may be enjoying his second retirement from the pro peloton but the seven-time Tour de France champion is still winning races – on a mountain bike.
The 39-year-old claimed victory in the Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey to qualify for the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race.
Armstrong won the Leadville after making his Tour de France comeback in 2009 and is again eligible to contest the 100-mile route – but refused to reveal whether he’ll line-up on August 13 to tackle nearly 5,000m of climbing in the Rocky Mountains.
“I’m old and I’m retired,” said Armstrong, who shut down a one minute gap in the final six miles to overahaul Greg Krause. “That’s usually not my specialty,” he added. “But for some reason today I sort of felt in the groove and was able to come around the guy on the last downhill. That definitely surprised me.”