Armstrong and Bruyneel, July 1996

Bruyneel tails Armstrong, July 1996; photo by Christy Steele

I'm scanning in a bunch of photos from the 1996 Olympic road race, with an eye toward posting them on Monday for the rest day.

I couldn't resist posting this one tonight, even though it got pretty blurry when I blew it up to a useful size.

In front, Lance Armstrong, 2.5 months from learning he has testicular cancer, is trying to break free of the first pro peloton in the Olympics, but his every move was covered. Here, the man shadowing Armstrong is Belgium's Johan Bruyneel, who would help convince Armstrong he could win the Tour de France, and serve as directeur sportif for all six Tour wins so far.

Update: I've swapped out the first picture for a better shot my wife took.

Also:

1996 Olympic time trial gallery

2005 Tour de Georgia time trial gallery