Tour de France 2011

London edges Paris for 2012 Olympics

CNN.com | London wins 2012 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2012 summer games to London.

Paris was runner-up in a 54-50 vote. It's the third consecutive failed bid for Paris, which also bid for the 1992 and 2008 games. Moscow, New York and Madrid were the first three cities eliminated from consideration.

Londoners watched the announcement on a giant screen in Trafalgar Square.

London becomes the first three-time Olympic host, after the 1908 and 1948 games.

Paris the leader for 2012 Olympics

BBC SPORT | Paris and London given 2012 boost

The BBC reads it as "Paris and London", but the AP story notes that Paris is the clear favorite with one month to go until the selection of the host city for the 2012 Olympics.

The initial report on preparations by 5 potential hosts was only really dubious of Moscow, whose planning is not as far along as Madrid, New York, London, or Paris.

DId I say Paris? I meant New York....

New York Post Online | Armstrong Backpedals

Lance Armstrong reportedly clarified his opinion on the 2012 Olympics yesterday, a day after saying "Paris deserves the Olympics."

Or, in the language of the New York Post:

Lance Armstrong threw up his arms in surrender yesterday and insisted in true weasel fashion that he's really rooting for New York, not Paris, to clinch the 2012 Olympics.

"If I were on the selection committee, I would be rolling for New York City," Armstrong sniveled a day after snubbing his own country when he said in interviews that he wanted Paris to get the Games.

Anybody got a link to the Post photo illustration they mention? They Photoshopped Armstrong "in front of the Arc de Triomphe wearing a beret and clad in a bike jersey decorated with a weasel head and the words, 'Axle of Weasel.' "

Also:

SignOnSandiego.com | 'Turncoat bicyclist' backpedals on Paris

Armstrong supports Paris for 2012 Olympics

The Globe and Mail | Lance Armstrong: Paris 'deserves' Games

Lance Armstrong told the Associated Press today he's torn between the competing bids by New York and Paris to host the 2012 Olympics, but thinks Paris "deserves the Olympics."

"I think they were arguably the best candidate in 2008 but for different reasons Paris didn't win, and they went to Beijing."

International Olympic Committee officials, fresh from a visit to New York, are in Paris to evaluate the city's bid. Also in the running are London, Madrid, and Moscow.

"Paris is one of the legendary cities in the world," Armstrong said, adding that the Stade de France would be a "special place for the opening ceremony."

But Armstrong also said his heart is with New York, given "everything they went through the last four-five years" — an apparent reference to the trauma of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

But he added: "If they don't win in 2012, they could win in 2016."

Armstrong has raced in three Olympic Games: 1992, 1996, and 2000. He skipped the Athens games in 2004 after being selected to the US team.

A decision is expected July 6.