Horner is ready to roll out with Armstrong, Leipheimer and his Team Astana (Image credit: Bruce Hildenbrand)
American pro cyclist Chris Horner will race side by side with his new teammate Lance Armstrong for the first time, a fact which is surprising since Horner has been openly critical of Armstrong in the past. Horner spoke with BikeRadar.com's Gary Boulanger about how the two senior members of the Astana team are getting on.
Chris Horner's star began rising after winning a stage during the 1996 Tour Du Pont, where another American, Motorola's Lance Armstrong, was winning his second consecutive race overall. The two racer's paths wouldn't cross again until 2004, when Horner, the defending champion, finished third to Armstrong at the Tour of Georgia.
While Armstrong rose to fame with seven consecutive Tour de France victories, Horner was forging his own sometimes rocky path through professional cycling's ranks. His move to the Astana team in 2008 was somewhat surprising because even after Horner had been critical of Armstrong after the demise of the Discovery Channel team, Johan Bruyneel opened the door for him.
Now that Armstrong has rejoined his long-time director at Astana, he and Horner are now the oldest and most experienced riders on the team, and have formed a brotherly bond going into the 2009 season. Armstrong even nicknamed Horner "redneck" at the team's Tenerife camp last December.
