Lance rides to rescue for Angora

RGJ STAFF REPORT

Posted: 7/12/2007

STATELINE – Lance Armstrong knows how to share.

The seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor announced today that proceeds from the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course will be divided between his Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and victims of the recent Angora Fire.

Armstrong linked those hit hard by the fire with those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

“Nobody deserves to have their life be changed that way,” Armstrong said. “Nobody deserves to be changed by cancer, either, but it happens.”

Initially, the LAF was the sole beneficiary of the weeklong golf tournament. But after organizers watched more than 200 homes in South Lake Tahoe burn, they approached Armstrong’s foundation about making the change.

“Edgewood Tahoe has been a long-term partner with the community and we hope to continue that,” said Edgewood president and CEO Brad Nelson.

Organizers said they would not know how the proceeds from the tournament will be shared between the two entities until the conclusion of the event, but Nelson said the golf course will also donate its Labor Day green fees to victims of the fire.

Following the announcement, Armstrong presented 13-year old South Lake Tahoe resident Garrett Singer with a new road bike. Singer, who is training for the Tour of California, a 129-mile road ride nicknamed the “Death Ride,” lost his bike in the Angora Fire.
“To win the ‘Death Ride,’ or the Tour de France, you need a bike,” Armstrong said.

-Lauren Gustus