Lance Armstrong, other cancer survivors to ride bikes on Strip

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

Lance Armstrong and 19 other bike riders should soon race down part of Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Clark County Commission on Tuesday approved the Bristol-Myers Squibb "Tour of Hope" for a 20-member team to bike on the Strip on Oct. 1.

It is the first time the team, made up of cancer survivors and the family members of cancer victims, will visit Las Vegas. The tour's presence in Nevada is in cooperation with the Nevada Cancer Institute.

The tour is designed to highlight the importance of drug trials for the ongoing cancer research effort and on the importance of early detection and treatment for beating the disease.

A co-sponsor for the team is MGM MIRAGE. Jim Murren, MGM MIRAGE president, said the issue is important to Nevada because the statewide rate for the successful treatment of cancer lags far behind the national rate, which he said was caused in part by the failure to find the disease early.

Nevadans with lung cancer have a 5 percent survival rate compared with the national average of 14 percent, according to Murren. "Early detection is the key to positive outcomes," Murren said. "We need to get that message out statewide."

Murren said the disruption of traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard between Harmon Avenue and Buccaneer Drive caused by the bicyclists should be minimal. The ride is to take place between 5 and 7 p.m. on a Friday.

"We've worked very hard to minimize or in fact eliminate any disruption," Murren said.

He said the bicyclists ride with traffic and do so quickly. The sponsors have already discussed the project with Metro Police, who have indicated the department will assist with any needed traffic controls.

Murren said the tour should give Las Vegas positive media exposure. Lance Armstrong, five-time defending champion of the Tour de France and a cancer survivor, draws television coverage wherever he rides, Murren said, and Armstrong was leading the Tour de France on Tuesday.

Murren said the annual cross-country tour, if successful here, could return to Las Vegas.