Lance Armstrong’s reported comeback won’t take place with the Astana cycling team.
“He is no part of our team,” Astana team press officer Philippe Maertens said in an e-mail. “Team Astana has no plans with him.”
The cycling journal VeloNews, citing anonymous sources, reported on its website Monday that the 36-year-old seven-time Tour de France champion would compete in the Tour and four other road races with Astana in 2009.
Armstrong did not immediately respond to a text message or voice mails left by The Associated Press.
VeloNews reported Armstrong will compete in the Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphine-Libere, in addition to the Tour.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed Armstrong is part of its out-of-competition testing pool and would be eligible for elite competition Feb. 1, 2009. The Tour of California begins Feb. 14.
Faulty transponder blamed for race confusion
INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was initially shown as the winner of the season’s final race because of a faulty transponder on his race car, the Indy Racing League said.
The electronic timing showed Dixon was the winner of Sunday’s PEAK Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, but race officials studied photos of the finish and gave the victory instead to Helio Castroneves. The margin was 0.0033 seconds, the second-closest finish in IRL history.
“The improperly installed transponder clearly affected the data we were receiving from Dixon’s car,” IRL timing and scoring director Jon Koskey said. “With the signal going the wrong direction, it could have bounced off of any number of things and made it difficult for the antenna to pick up an accurate signal.”
The IRL timing system is backed up by a high-speed camera that takes a picture every ten-thousandth of a second.
Utah’s Talamaivao out for season
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah defensive lineman Lei Talamaivao had surgery to repair his broken right fibula and will miss the remainder of the season.
• Miami running back Javarris James has a high left ankle sprain that could keep him out of the Hurricanes’ next game — Sept. 20 at Texas A&M.
• Offensive lineman Andy Christensen was reinstated to Nebraska’s team after being acquitted of sexual assault charges last week.
Footnotes.
Oscar Pistorius of South Africa began his bid for three gold medals at the Beijing Paralympics by finishing in 11.16 seconds for the fastest time in 100-meter heats. Pistorius, a double amputee known as the “Blade Runner,” will also run the 200 and 400.
• The University of Richmond men’s and women’s basketball teams violated NCAA rules by contacting recruits in hundreds of e-mails and phone calls.
• Doyle Parrack, who played on a national championship basketball team and later coached at three NCAA Division I schools in Oklahoma, died Friday in Perkins, Okla. He was 86.
The Associated Press
