Lance Armstrong To Race Ironman Panama 70.3?

Lance Armstrong first hinted at his return to triathlon in the weeks leading up to the Xterra USA National Championship in Utah last September (after more than two decades away from the sport) by taking to Twitter, where his alter ego, @juanpelota, dropped a number of clues about the venue of his much anticipated triathlon comeback.

Armstrong is again tweeting cryptic messages that may reveal plans for his next triathlon, this time suggesting Ironman Panama 70.3 this Sunday. On Tuesday morning he tweeted a link to a Van Halen music video for the song “Panama.” At first glance it seems a shaky connection, but consider an earlier tweet from Jan. 8: “Reading @nytimes travel section. Rates top 45 places to travel to in 2012. Panama is # 1. Hmm, interesting.”

PHOTOS: Exclusive Photos Of Lance Armstrong’s Return To Tri

We know that he’s been hard at work swimming, biking and running via Twitter updates like this one from a week ago:

“Great training day. 2600 in the pool, 85 miles on the bike, then 5 mi run straight off the bike…”

If he does toe the line this Sunday, he’ll find strong competition in friend and fellow cycling star Chris Lieto, as well as Rasmus Henning, T.J. Tollakson, Bert Jammaer, Matty Reed and Jesse Thomas.

Stay tuned for updates and reports from the Triathlete.com crew in Panama this weekend.

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