Diane Pucin
reporting from mawson lakes, australia
20th January 2009

Not everybody knows Lance Armstrong.

Milton Checker, an 80-year-old sheep farmer whose 30 acres of land include
Checker Hill, the highest climb of the first day of the Tour Down Under, said that until last week he had never heard of the cyclist who has set worldwide records
and helped raise $250 million for cancer research.

“Now I’ve been hearing of him three times a day,” said Checker, who had graciously allowed about 250 cars to park on his land, let hundreds of bike fans set up
shop on his hillside and then watched the speeding peloton buzz past.

“Which one was Armstrong?” Checker said.
Armstrong was No. 11, wearing the aqua, yellow and white colors of his Kazakhstan-
based team and laboring a little on a day during which the temperatures reached 100 degrees and Armstrong said he drank “15 or 20 bottles of liquid” while trying to stay hydrated.

The winner of the first stage was the man wearing No. 1, the race’s defending
champion, Germany’s Andre Greipel.

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