Michael Schumacher Vs Lance Armstrong

2 Sports, 2 Champions, 2 Spectacular Comebacks!

There have been a lot of comparisons between Michael Schumacher and Lance Armstrong and their respective sporting comebacks. Both are exceptional athletes who won the biggest annual prize in their chosen sport seven times. Both then retired for three years before returning to compete against guys almost half their age. It will be interesting to see how many more comparisons can be made between the two in a year from now.

Armstrong rode strongly in this year's Tour de France and finished an impressive third. That is a great achievement but Lance could have taken second place had he not fallen into a support role for his teammate, and race winner, Alberto Contador.

The Tour de France is an extreme test of fitness and whilst Armstrong proved that he could still mix it with the very best in the world, he just didn't have the legs to win. The Tour is won or lost in the tough mountain stages about two thirds of the way through the race and that's where Alberto Contador made his mark. At that point Armstrong started helping Contador secure his victory and opted not to race him in the remaining mountains.

Armstrong might not have had the raw strength and stamina to win but his tactics were still first class. He brought himself into contention after stage three by riding smartly in the peloton (the big group of riders) when the winds were gusty. He also rode very well in support of Contador in the late stages, shadowing their rivals and preventing them from challenging the lead.

Schumacher's return may end up following a similar path. He will still have the same skills and racing mind, but whether he can rediscover that little bit extra that turns a winner into a champion remains to be seen. Luckily for Schumacher, skill is far more important than leg power in Formula One.

It's interesting that Armstrong's biggest rival during his comeback was a Spaniard in his own team, Alberto Contador. This year, Schumacher might find that his biggest challenge comes from a Spaniard in his old team, Fernando Alonso.

Will Schumacher fare as well as Armstrong?

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