Lance Armstrong’s Tour Down Under comeback: See it yourself on cycling tour

Lance Armstrong — who will, you may have heard, be racing in the 2009 Tour de France — will soon be in the spotlight in Australia. The Texan cancer survivor will launch his comeback to elite racing with the 2009 Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Jan. 18-25, 2009, as he rides with Team Astana.

If you can head to Australia to experience some of the pre-”Tour de Lance” buzz yourself, a number of tour operators are more than happy to oblige, with offers to guide your two-wheelin’ self where the cycling icon’s tires will tread.

The Wisconsin-based Trek Travel, for instance, is advertising a nine-day, eight-night cycling tour package that will give you VIP views of Armstrong and the other racers as they compete, as well as opportunities to experience rides along parts of the race terrain, including South Australia’s Barossa Valley and the coastal roads of the Fleurieu Peninsula.

During and between guided cycling trips, you’ll have the opportunity to take in Adelaide’s sights, and partake in wine-tasting and beach-going. Events for hobnobbing are scheduled, including the Legends Night Dinner, which will be attended by sports commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin, and, according to Fox Sports, Armstrong himself.

The cost for such an adventure? It ain’t cheap, at $5,195 per person; the single supplement fee is $1,250. This price does not include airfare, but it does include lodging; most meals, snacks and drinks for the daily rides; evening social hours; private tours; event entrance fees; trip transport; luggage transport; gratuities; guides; and even use of a Trek bike, if you like.

You can peruse other tour operators’ offerings on the Tour Down Under website.

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: A recent year's Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia; TourDownUnder.com]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 10:00 am by Susan Derby and is filed under News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Pacific & Australia, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.