It's time for the light sabers

Greg LeMond was Lance Armstrong’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, his idol as a young cyclist, the man who paved the way for American cycling success in Europe. LeMond and Armstrong are the United States' two all-time greatest cyclists, our only winners of the Tour de France.

And they just can’t get along.

LeMond has been anti-Lance since 2001, when he went public with his “disappointment” that Lance was associated with Italian doctor Michele Ferrari. Ferrari has been linked to blood doping scandals, and Armstrong finally severed his ties with him in 2005.

Greg and Lance have been at loggerheads ever since, and now, in the midst of the latest flurry of drug allegations against Armstrong, LeMond claims that Armstrong threatened him after he testified in a recent legal dispute against the famous Texan cancer survivor.

How are we going to settle this, lads? A winner-take-all bike race seems out of the question – Lemond is ten years older than Lance, who is only a year removed from his seventh straight Tour victory. Maybe a showdown on Jeopardy. Maybe a duel to the end while the Death Star slowly burns and a war for the future of the galaxy rages in the heavens behind you.

However you want to do it. Just so long as it gets done. The time to hesitate is through. Lance, Greg, do us all a favor and end this thing like men. Choose your seconds and name your poison.

Meanwhile, the 2006 Tour de France kicks off on Saturday, and for the first time since 1998, someone other than Lance Armstrong will finish with the yellow jersey. OLN will be covering the race start to finish, starting live at 8:30 Saturday morning. Click here for the full television schedule.