Back in September I speculated in my T-D column about Lance Armstrong competing regularly on the XTERRA off-road triathlon tour. He had just come in fifth at XTERRA nationals in his first triathlon is 22 years. He went on to compete in XTERRA worls later that fall and did well again. Suddenly the thought of Lance racing Richmond didn’t seem very far fetched. As Trey Garman, XTERRA VP and media director told me at the time: “Rumor has it that if he enjoys himself (at nationals), XTERRA could be one of his regular gigs…and “Richmond is top-dog as far as courses go.”

Well, that was then. Now? Not so much. In February, Armstrong announced that he’d be entering a number of Iron and Half-Iron distance races in the Ironman series of road triathlons. Still, I held out hope that maybe he’d race XTERRA as well. In a recent email, though, Garman broke the bad news: “We think he’ll be back to XTERRA at some point, unfinished business, but 2012 looks focused on Ironman Worlds…”

Too bad. Would have been cool to see Lance flying through Forest Hill Park on his mountain bike or navigating the James’ famously random June water level. Maybe next year.