Armstrong's reasoning for return in spin cycle

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Somewhere among the souvenirs is a picture taken from a ski lodge balcony up above Grenoble, a place called Villard de Lans, the moment Lance Armstrong crosses the finish line of the stage that would propel him on to his sixth of seven Tours de France titles.The vantage point was unusual for a bicycle race. Usually, it is no more than a blur of color zipping past. I once timed the entire Tour field passing a single point in 17 seconds.Imagine a three-week football game and all you saw of it took less time than making, or drinking, a cup of coffee -- French roast, of course.The craziest part of Armstrong's making that foreign bicycle race as important as it once was is that nobody sees it, not really, even from the TV helicopters, but at least there is a sense of things, some perspective from above.And that day as Armstrong took the lead for the first time, the mind remains clear. A sweeping left turn up the hill and then a slight downgrade, past the summer splotched piste, the out-of-season ski racks, up to the great yellow balloon amphitheater, inflated and deflated and carried from place to place where the jerseys are passed out.Why that moment sticks out may be only because I had a cell phone camera to record it, so it is my Lance moment, one of millions that must be keepsakes for those who never saw a bit of any race with Armstrong.It was not the seven Tours so much, though they allowed the real story to resonate, it was the story itself, of the man who came back from the dead, who would stir hope and inspire dreams.There may never have been a better story in sports, left in a tidy place to be examined or recalled as needed, a treasure kept safe and entire.Armstrong had the very real and symbolic achievement of finishing on top, top of the Alps, top of the game, top of the hero pile, none like him before nor likely to be after.So, why is he going to ruin it all and come back?He says it is to raise awareness of cancer, as if he of all sports figures has not already done that. Possibly the attention already and from now until July, until he is on another hill above Grenoble, will call greater attention to his cause.It is very hard to question the motives of someone with absolutely nothing to gain, other than the benefit he promotes.But you have to wish he would not do it. No more than the return of Michael Jordan, who had nearly as perfect an ending as Armstrong. To see a lesser Jordan as Washington Wizard was to wince, if now only the wonder days are recalled.Possibly only George Foreman has pulled it off, the young champ becoming the old champ and a much more enjoyable one.But it does not happen often, and the motives are almost always the same. To get back the glory. In his brief Internet message confirming his return, Armstrong already looked a relic, not the Roi des Velos, of a mere three years back.Now to become just another, as the poet said, one of the lads who wore their honors out.More than the legend, more than the inspiration, what is at stake for Armstrong is a chance again for those who have chipped away at his achievements to take another shot.As yesterday's hero it did not matter how insistent were the whispers and accusations that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs. Too late to take away any of the honors if he had, too bad to think that further proof is required.There must be somewhere in the impulse to do this again, the notion that Armstrong can disprove those niggling smirks only by getting back on the bike. Innuendo is a silly motive for risking so much.No one older than 34 has won the Tour de France since 1922, and Armstrong will be 37 when he tries again.What comes to mind are visions of the latest "Rocky'' film, one that offered a fictional hero who was, what, 50 or so? This would be Lance VIII, no movie at all but a real person facing real pain.Still, you wish him well. You always have.(Contact Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News at lincicomeb(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)