After three years in retirement following his record-setting seventh consecutive Tour de France win, bestselling author and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong announced his return to professional cycling. At the same time he launched a global cancer campaign to take the LIVESTRONG message around the world. "COMEBACK 2.0: Up Close and Personal (Touchstone Hardcover / Simon & Schuster; December 1, 2009; $27.99; ISBN 13: 978-1-4391-7314-5)" is Lance Armstrong’s first-person photo journal of his 2009 comeback season.
Renowned photographer Elizabeth Kreutz has been granted unprecedented access to Armstrong to deliver this intimate portrait of his life during a particularly remarkable season.
COMEBACK 2.0 includes an introduction by Lance that frames his decision to return to competitive cycling followed by first-person captions accompanying the photos that narrate his comeback season beginning with the Tour Down Under, followed by the Tour of California, his spectacular crash in the first stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y León race in Spain that resulted in a broken collar bone, the Giro d’Italia, and finally the Tour de France. COMEBACK 2.0 offers breathtaking views of the race stages as well as intimate, behind-the-scenes shots of his training, the surgery for his broken collarbone, life with his children, campaigning for cancer research, meeting with cancer patients and survivors, drug testing, and the birth of his son Max.
The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) announced today that the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit will take place Aug. 24-26, 2009 in Dublin, Ireland immediately following LAF founder and chairman, cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's participation in the Tour of Ireland, Aug. 19-23. As the landmark event of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign, the Summit will make the case for acting urgently to address the global cancer burden and introduce new commitments to cancer control by bringing together world leaders, corporations, non-governmental organizations and advocates in an unprecedented show of solidarity.
The first day of the summit will include The Clinic, a roundtable discussion headed up by LIVESTRONG advisor and CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The Clinic can be watched by live webcast on CNN.com Sunday at 11am (EST).
"Unless we act on a global level, cancer will be the leading cause of death by 2010," said Armstrong. "Our goal is to be the catalyst that brings everyone together to fight cancer—from survivors, like me, to world leaders and policymakers who must commit completely to the effort to avoid a public health catastrophe. The Summit provides an invaluable opportunity to stand up for the 28 million cancer survivors worldwide and to create a unified effort to control cancer through new commitments to action."
In a separate announcement in Dublin, Ireland's Minister for Health, Mary Harney said Ireland was very pleased to welcome the Summit to Dublin in August. "Cancer Control is a top priority for the Irish Government. The themes of the Summit fit well with our new national Cancer Control Strategy and anti-tobacco initiatives we have taken, such as the ban on smoking in the workplace. We wish the Summit and the Lance Armstrong Foundation every success and we will be happy to welcome all international delegates to Ireland."
Irish Cancer Society CEO John McCormack said, "We still have a lot to do in the fight against cancer. By 2020, it is estimated there will be more than 40,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in Ireland. We can and must act to reduce the rate of preventable cancer and this summit gives us the opportunity to increase cancer awareness and take actions which will save lives."
Darach McQuaid, Project Director for the Tour of Ireland, said, "The global sports icon that is Lance Armstrong last raced in Ireland in the Tour of Ireland in 1992. This August 19-23 the Tour of Ireland could not be more proud than to have Lance Armstrong riding once again on Irish roads in the lead up to his Global Cancer Summit in Dublin. The massive, positive public reaction to his comeback to the sport in Australia in January and California in February indicate that by the time Lance arrives in Ireland next August, the interest levels will be at fever pitch. I am confident that we can provide Lance with a challenging course and via our global broadcast, promote his cancer message in over 140 television markets around the world."
Already, world leaders are indicating their intent to send high-level representation and make commitments. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former U.S. President Bill Clinton are included in the early list of leaders expressing support. The LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign made immediate progress when it launched in Australia this January with several new commitments to cancer control from the Australian government and NGOs. In addition, conversations are ongoing with the Kingdom of Jordan to announce a substantial new commitment in that country. These commitments and others will be featured at the Summit in Dublin.
"I hope a decade from now we can look back on this campaign and see that there truly is a global cancer movement – one that has adequately funded cancer research, cut the death rate to zero and maximized the amount of prevention and education and advocacy that can be done," said Clinton. "And that it has helped people to live with and overcome cancer with the support they need."
As you're probably aware, LIVESTRONG.COM advisor Lance Armstrong is now several days into the grueling Tour de France, and he's sharing tons of exclusive videos and photos right here on the site. (You don't want to miss the video with Ben Stiller trying out Lance's bike!)
We've been thrilled and honored that the press keeps mentioning LIVESTRONG.COM in their stories on Lance:
Don't forget: If you're lucky enough to be anywhere along the Tour, we want your photos! Email fan pictures to TdFphotos at gmail dot com from your phone or PC, and we'll get your photos onto our Tour de France section!
