USPS Re-Cycles Lance Armstrong
You may know that Lance Armstrong is the captain of the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team.
What you probably didn't know is that Lance Armstrong delivers mail in California.
Same name, same employer, same sport, same health scare....but different guys, reports the Associated Press.
The 27-year-old letter carrier says he doesn't mind being mistaken for the more famous Lance Armstrong. Both are both trim and lanky with short fair hair.
When Lance C. Armstrong - that's the letter carrier - competed recently in a race in Holland, well-wishers assumed he was the Tour de France champion.
"These guys kept coming up and saying, 'Great race.' It's tempting just to say, 'Gee, thanks,'" said the postal worker. He was in Austin, Texas - the champion's home town - Saturday for Austin's Ride for the Roses, which raises money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports cancer survivors and research.
It was a chance for the two Lance Armstrongs to meet.
"This is like a dream come true," said the letter-carrier, who raised $5,000 for the foundation after his own health scare last year.
A doctor removed six suspicious growths from his thigh before confirming they weren't cancerous. But for the newly married cyclist, that month of uncertainty was almost unbearable.
"It puts the fear of God in you," he said. "You can be in perfect shape and perfect health. Cancer can strike anyone at any time."
Professional cyclist Lance Armstrong overcame testicular cancer to win the sport's most prestigious race last year.
Flanked by dozens of fellow bikers as he prepared to take off for another ride Saturday, Lance Armstrong autographed his fellow Armstrong's postal uniform - a souvenir for the guys back at the post office.
He said his co-workers have been supportive of his hobby.
"They razz you about the shaved legs, and the name," Lance C. Armstrong said.
One of his co-workers was firmly convinced that he, not Austin's Armstrong, had won the Tour de France.
"He asked me about the jet lag, and said 'I don't know how you do it,'" he said, laughing. "I actually had to sit the guy down and explain it to him."
The more famous Armstrong is in the middle of training for his next Tour de France.
Margot Myers, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service Team, which includes both Armstrongs, said Lance Armstrong is training about six hours a day. He will ride 50 miles in Sunday's Ride for the Roses before leaving town for another event.
Lance C. Armstrong has registered for the entire 100-mile trek.
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