January 19, 2009 - Big sighs of relief were heard around the Astana camp after last night’s comeback race of Lance Armstrong went off without incident. There has been so much hype, so much hope, and so much happiness at Lance’s return to the sport that it would have been a most unfair occasion if anything had gone wrong. As it is, the way is now forward for Lance to really get back into the racing scene this week, to build on his strengths, patch up any discrepancies in his portfolio of skills, and to then apply them to the job in hand. Despite the heat, and the nervousness of the season’s opening event – a criterium of all things! - Lance looked so damn good last night in Adelaide, one wonders whether he might just put in a ‘star turn during the following six stages of the Tour Down Under.

Because of the intricacy of the circuit, and the added crowd security that comes with having a world statesman like Lance in the Adelaide event, just about everybody watched the action from a fixed point on the circuit, using the huge TV screens to see the action as the peloton raced around the crowd-packed rectangular course before cheering on their heroes as they raced past every few minutes. For the media, for team support, and for fans too, all of us watched those giant screens to see how Lance was coping with the bumping and jostling, as his veteran-like body worked hard to stay as close to the front as possible, mixing it with the sprinters’ teams to stay clear of trouble. Not only did Lance stay near the front for almost all the race, he occasionally put his famous head at the front, or was at least tucked in behind one of his faithful Astana teamates.

Not one of the Astana team last night could claim to be a one hour-long criterium specialist, but each to a man they took it in turns to shield Lance from the wind, to take him back towards the front if he’d drifted away from the head of the race, or to hand him a water bottle as the heat of the night played its onerous role. In Michael Schar, Lance found a most perfect protector on the long straights, and in Max Iglinsky and

Assan Bazayev, a pair of power-packed dynamos to lead him through the four corners. Even mountain men like Chechu Rubiera and Jesus Hernandez did their bit to help, with the best teammate of the night being Steve Morabito, who seemed to last longer than the others when the speed went sky high. All of them sense Lance’s commitment to do well at this event, and all of them know that they earned their master’s respect the hard way, by giving the very best of themselves when it was needed. The rest of the week could seem quite easy in comparison!

Typically, the Tour Down Under usually ends in a sprint-finish each day, the collective strength of the sprinters’ teams ensuring no escapes stay away as they used to when the race was not a ProTour event. Now, even on a tougher course than in 2008, it is hard to see that things will be much different this time. Columbia, Milram, Rabobank, Katusha, Quick-Step, Liquigas, Garmin, Fuji-Servetto and UniSA form a nine-man sprinting block that will defy the ambitions of non-sprinting teams like Euskatel, Caisse d’Epargne, Cofidis, Saxo Bank and Astana on at least four of the six stages. This second list of teams harbors contenders for overall victory if things go their way, and I find it hard to believe that Lance won’t be amongst this hopeful group on the two stages that matter, the stages that might buck the trend in South Australia. People talk of stage two to Stirling being decisive and, of course, stage five to Willunga being absolutely crucial.

For me it is stages three and five that hold the keys to this race, and where Astana has made its plans in-depth should Lance prove to be as well conditioned as he looks. It might sound foolish to even suggest the man is going to have a go, but he is not here to look at the kangaroo signs that dot the wide, open, highways, nor to ogle at the acres and acres of to-die-for vineyards that force most travelers to stop and sample at least a few glasses of the potent wines that await within. Lance is here to make a statement to the sporting world that he is back as good as when he left us all, and that means he has to attack, and maybe attack again, to make his point. He has placed enormous emphasis on the globalization of his cancer-awareness program, and to not at least try and win would, in his eyes, be letting those millions of believers down. So expect to see this legend take the racing on during Thursday’s and Saturday’s hillier finales. Lance will have to contend with opposition from Stuart O’Grady, David Moncoutié, Luis Leon Sanchez and even his old mate George Hincapie. But if he even gets a sniff of a race-winning break, Astana’s newest team leader is going to go for it.

It’s been quite an experience for me to be photographing Lance again, as I really thought we’d said a true ‘au-revoir’ years ago, at least as far as our cyclist-photographer relationship was concerned. I hate crowds at the best of time, and hate having to barge my way into a crowd in order to get a photograph of something special. But Lance is a bit too special to ignore in his comeback event, so into that crowd I have gone, cursing the man that he’s back, yet enjoying the experience all the same. Lance is a very intelligent man, someone who is constantly aware who is behind a TV camera, a journalist’s microphone or a photographer’s Nikon. Occasionally our eyes meet, and I see in his the same surprise and bewilderment that mine must reveal to him. We are doing it all again, seems to be the emotions – déjà vu, if you prefer. This one is different to the last in that Lance is enjoying himself so much more. He’s older, wiser, more mature, and eager to please as many people as he can, for as long as he can. And it all started here in South Australia – the people just love him!

Graham Watson