Armstrong to race again this weekend

By Sue George

Just a few days after formally announcing his comeback to the sport of professional cycling, Lance Armstrong will participate in another mountain bike race, the 12 hours of Snowmass in Snowmass, Colorado.

"Armstrong will race as a member of a three-person team along with local Max Taam and another person yet to be named," said promoter and long-time Subaru / Gary Fisher pro mountain biker Nat Ross.

The high altitude of Snowmass Village and the 12-hour duration should suit the two riders well as they both completed the Leadville 100, a 100-mile mountain bike race, last month. In Leadville, Armstrong finished second behind Dave Wiens, who broke his own course record while Taam finished sixth.

Ross is promoting the brand new event on September 14, which will benefit local charities Aspen Youth Center and Extreme Sports Camp. The race will run from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on an "intermediate-level" course according to Ross. He picked the venue in order to create a ski resort-type course.

"I always loved ski resort courses," said Ross. "They were once very popular in mountain biking [in the 1990s and early 2000s - ed.], but are less prevalent on the circuit now."

For more information on the race, visit www.12hoursofsnowmass.com.