As reported in today’s Denver Post, Lance Armstrong will accompany the entire Colorado Classic via his podcast “Stages” in an Airstream trailer.
He and Austin radio host JB Hager had their initial “Stages” podcast during last month’s Tour de France. There were more than 5 million downloads. It was in iTunes’ July top ten.
He’d been doing a weekly podcast called “Forward” about music and other topics for about a year but had no expectations of how “Stages” would do.
Obviously he still has many fans and is quite happy about the success.
He doesn’t have a sponsor so he can say what he wants.
Ken Gart, the organizer of the Colorado Classic, was quoted as saying “Five million downloads. We were blown away by that. He, without a doubt, has the biggest audience in cycling.” “If we were launching a new strategy, that would be one thing. But with 5 million downloads, this will help us connect with that serious cycling audience.”
Lance is hopeful about Gart’s model for pro cycling which will combine cycling with music and food downtown and as a ticketed event. He’s looking forward to it.
WADA succeeded in blocking Lance’s affiliation with the race by threatening the race organizers with sanctions. Lance will do his broadcast independently.
