Lance Armstrong & Team RadioShack Forced to Remove Black Livesrong 28 Jerseys
On stage 20 of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong and the rest of Team RadioShack wore black Livestrong jerseys with the number 28, this represents the 28 million people in the world with Cancer.
Officials at the 2010 Tour de France demanded Team Radioshack take off the black Livestrong 28 jerseys and put back on the regular red and grey jerseys, and the cyclists had to add their assigned number. This resulted in a delay in the Tour.
Team RadioShack was upset at the situation, including director Johan Bruyneel, who expressed his anger on Twitter writing: Ok people! Now it’s official!” he tweeted. “To be a race commisar (sic), you don’t need brains but only know the rules! Their motto: “c’est le reglement!”
As you can expect, the UCI is unhappy on Bruyneel’s statement. Acting in somewhat good faith, the UCI said any fines from the incident will be donated to the Swiss Cancer League.
Now, we have to ask, do you think it was the right decision to have Team RadioShack remove the black Livestrong Jerseys?
Photo Credit: Joel Saget
It was a great idea, but it was arrogant to not notify race officials before the last day. Team Radio Shack also knew the rules and they knew they were going to roll out the new kits for the last day. They and the officials should be accountable. It would have been such a win/win if handled properly.