Lance Armstrong teamed up with former US Postal teammates George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde and Dylan Casey to enter the 24 hour mountain bike race, Old Pueblo, in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend. The team, racing under the name of WEDU, finished third.
Armstrong, Hincapie, Vande Velde and Casey were teammates at the US Postal Service team between 1999 and 2002. Armstrong is banned for life from competing in events sanctioned by US Cycling, but Old Pueblo does not fall within that category so he was allowed to ride - similarly to other events he has ridden in recent history, for example the Texas Chainring Massacre gravel race, in which he finished second.
Hincapie and Vande Velde were both given six month bans after testifying in a 2012 USADA investigation, and all four riders are now long-retired.
Armstrong's team were racing in the four-man team category, in a total field of 1,800 riders. Over the course of the race, which was run out on a 16.1 mile course, with 1,231 feet gained per lap, they lost out to second-placed Stan's No Lube by a mere three seconds. The winning team, Nine Inch Males, were some way ahead and completed 24 laps.