Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2005 list.
Posted on 07/15/2005 10:35:23 PM PDT by nutmeg
On Sunday, Lance Armstrong will pay tribute to his former teammate at Motorola, Fabio Casartelli, who died in a crash on the descent of Porte d'Aspet a decade ago.
Casartelli was the reigning Olympic road race champion in 1992, and joined Armstrong's team soon afterwards for what was supposed to be a promising future - until his fatal crash on the Pyrenean descent.
On what should prove an emotional weekend for the American six-time winner of the Tour, remembering Casartelli will be one of the foremost things on the American's mind.
"It's going to mean a lot, because it is my last year also," said Armstrong, who will retire after this year's race. "This is the 10-year anniversary which goes to show just how time flies. It feels almost like yesterday when we were decending the Porte d'Aspet and and I saw him there. Obviously, we pass again and it's always a tough moment to pass that point.
"His wife and son will be here, his parents will be here, which is incredible, added motivation for me."
After a tough weekend climbing in the Pyrenees, where this year's race could effectively be decided, Armstrong and his team will pay a small tribute to the fallen Italian at a private ceremony on Monday's rest day.
"We do these two stages, and then the rest day, I know there is something planned for the rest day," he said. "A small ceremony, I suppose, if our hotel's not too far from there.
"In my trips to Italy, I catch up with his wife. When he died, his son was just a little baby. To see him now as a 10-year-old boy, who is a carbon-copy of Fabio is a very special sight, so I tend to not be public about it.
"When I go to Italy and visit the graveside, I don't have a press conference about it. It's a private, personal visit between me and him.
"He was a great guy, great guy and ... I'll ride with his memory on Sunday for sure."
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2005 list.
What a good job you are doing on the Tour, Nutmeg!!
Umm... make that later THIS morning... ;-)
Who wears the Yellow now?
Still Lance, for the 75th time.
4 more times and he will be 2nd in the Yellow for the record books, after Merckx.
Jack Nicklaus, Lance Armstrong, and Cal Ripken, Jr.
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