It was supposed to be another incredible chapter to Lance Armstrong’s improbable story.
Watch Armstrong conquer cancer.
Watch him beat the odds by winning his second straight Tour de France title in July.
Then watch him get another roadblock thrown at him in August when he was hit by a car in Nice, France, fracturing a vertebra in his neck.
There were some doubts whether Armstrong would make it to Sydney, but he still has at least two or three of the nine lives that appear to have been given him. He arrived at the Olympics strong, ready to pursue the one thing that has eluded him in his sport: a gold medal.
The stage was set Saturday for Armstrong to add to his legend, but there would be no storybook ending this time.
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Armstrong had to settle for the bronze in the men’s individual time trial, finishing the 29.08-mile course in 58 minutes 14 seconds. He was well behind his U.S. Postal Service teammate, Russia’s Viacheslav Ekimov, who was the surprise winner in 57:40. Jan Ullrich of Germany, who won the road race Wednesday, captured the silver in 57:48.
Ekimov gave Russia its first Olympic cycling title in 12 years.
The bronze was the first Olympic medal for Armstrong. He fell short in Atlanta in 1996, competing only months before he was diagnosed with cancer.
After his recovery, Armstrong pointed to these Olympics with one goal in mind.
“I came here to win the gold,” Armstrong said. “I went as hard as I could. I wish I could say I had a problem, like I felt bad or that I had bad legs. I just didn’t go as fast as the other two guys.”
Armstrong said his neck didn’t bother him. Probably a bigger problem was trying to peak again after the Tour de France. Only the Olympics prompted him to take on a fall race.
Still, Armstrong said: “I have no excuses. I gave it everything I had and I finished third.”
Armstrong went full tilt from the beginning, hoping to build momentum with a fast start in a race in which the cyclists race against the clock, going off in three-minute intervals. However, he trailed Ekimov’s pace by eight seconds nearly halfway through the race and lost more time the rest of the way.
Ekimov’s main concern in the final nervous moments was Ullrich. Going off in the second group, the Russian had to wait nearly an hour before Ullrich finished.
“They were some of the most nervous moments of my life,” Ekimov said.
When Ullrich came in eight seconds slower, Ekimov suddenly was an Olympic champion. It was a big surprise to everyone, including Ekimov, who came into the Olympics hoping for a top-five finish.
Yet there was Ekimov on the victory stand, getting the attention usually reserved for Armstrong. At the Tour, Ekimov played the role of teammate, helping set up Armstrong in various stages.
“If I said I wasn’t surprised that he won, I’d be lying,” Armstrong said.
“But he’s a specialist in this. At the Tour, he put it all on the line for me. As upset as I am not to win the gold, I’m happy for him.”
The admiration was mutual.
“For me, Lance is the most respected [cyclist] out there,” Ekimov said. “For me, he is a hero for what he has done for the sport. I’m really proud and happy to be on the same team.”
However, Ekimov wasn’t his teammate Saturday.
“Today I’m the gold-medal winner and he’s the bronze,” Ekimov said. “He understands the situation.”
Ekimov won his Olympic gold at 34, a statistic that gave the 29-year-old Armstrong pause when asked if he would return for the 2004 Games in Athens.
“I’d be 33,” said Armstrong, looking at Ekimov. “Maybe that’s what it would take.”
Then seriously, Armstrong said, “I have a feeling these will be my last Olympics.”
If that’s true, it wasn’t the ending Armstrong wanted.
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