University of New Mexico assistant professor of pathology Vann Schaffner is trying to woo cycling superstar Lance Armstrong and his Tour of Hope cancer research fundraiser down Route 66 to Albuquerque next summer, Albuquerque Tribune columnist Kate Nelson reports.
Schaffner’s no cycling expert, but he’s an expert on cancer. He is the director of the university’s Human Tissue Repository — a collection of tumors and organs used for disease research.
Armstrong’s no assistant professor, but he’s also an expert of sorts on cancer. The disease nearly killed him, but he came back to win an unprecedented seven Tours de France.
The 2005 Tour of Hope route shows it going through southern New Mexico. Schaffner seeks to persuade its organizers to change the 2006 route northward to Albuquerque to coincide with the city’s annual Balloon Fiesta, which is one of the most popular events in the Southwest.
Nelson writes:
Why not? If they can entice Armstrong with a route that rolls through Navajo Country down to historic Route 66 and beneath 1,000 balloons, who knows how much awareness and money they could raise?
Let’s hope the Tour of Hope leaders are asking those questions, too.