Lance Armstrong will hop on his bike for an upcoming event in Iowa.
The disgraced cyclist is expected to show up during the The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa later this month. Although this is his fifth time at RAGBRAI, it will serve as the first public cycling event Armstrong has attended since admitting to doping earlier this year.
According to The Associated Press , the state-long adventure is scheduled to take place on July 20.
While some believe Lance Armstrong is attempting to make a statement by participating in the annual event, the cyclist said he just wants to ride with a “friendly group of people that share the same interests.”
Armstrong said that he and his staff intend to spend three or four days at RAGBRAI later this month. He also intends to make an appearance at an expo held in Council Bluffs ahead of the event.
During an interview with USA Today , Lance Armstrong admitted that he’s a little nervous about how other RAGBRAI riders will handle his participation. Many people felt betrayed by the cyclist after he admitted to using drugs to win the Tour De France.
“I’m well aware my presence is not an easy topic, and so I encourage people if they want to give a high five, great. If you want to shoot me the bird, that’s okay, too. I’m a big boy, and so I made the bed, I get to sleep in it,” Armstrong explained.
Although the cyclist is excited about participating in the upcoming event, not everyone thinks it’s such a swell idea. Below you can find a handful of Twitter reactions to the news.
Anyone wanna ride alongside Lance Armstrong during ragbrai and boo him the whole way?
— Andrew James Grant (@tallwhiteboy44) July 4, 2013
Lance Armstrong is participating in the RAGBRAI, an annual bike ride across Iowa. What does a disgraced athlete add to the event?
— Spencer Schein (@1SpencerS) July 4, 2013
Lance Armstrong is going to ride Ragbrai. What is next Alex Rodriguez & Barry Bonds are going to host the Little League baseball camp?
— Troy Shute (@Troydms) July 3, 2013
Of course, not everyone is against Armstrong’s participation.
glad to hear @lancearmstrong is going to #RAGBRAI , he comes up w/ our students in #Indy often and gotta respect him for not hiding.
— Nine13sports (@Nine13sports) July 3, 2013
What do you think about Lance Armstrong participating in RAGBRAI?
[Image via miqu77 / Shutterstock.com ]
