Tour de France - Armstrong to race in Tour de France

Eurosport - Tue, 02 Dec 13:03:00 2008

Seven-times winner Lance Armstrong has confirmed he will make a Tour de France comeback next year.

CYCLING - Armstrong Lance - 0

The 37-year-old rider announced in September he was coming out of retirement for the 2009 season.

A cancer survivor, Armstrong won the Tour for a record seven consecutive years from 1999-2005.

The American retired following his 2005 victory and has since devoted himself to the fight against cancer - raising funds and awareness through his foundation.

Armstrong, who will race for Astana, had already confirmed that he would race the Giro d'Italia, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of California and several of the one-day classic races.

The Texas-born former road race world champion and bronze medallist from the Sydney Olympics in 2000, had said he would make his first race back in the Tour Down Under around Adelaide, Australia in January.

Armstrong has had a strained relationship with the Tour de France organisers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), who said in October that his return would be "embarrassing".

The French daily newspaper L'Equipe, owned by ASO's parent company EPA (Editions Philippe Amaury), claimed three years ago that samples of Armstrong's urine from 1999 showed traces of the banned blood-boosting substance erythropoietin.

Armstrong, however, never tested positive and was cleared by a Dutch investigator appointed by the International Cycling Union.

The American has also questioned how safe he would be in France, expressing concerns about being targeted by fans.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 18 of 38

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  1. MacDonald, your obviously French and slightly retarded­ from viewing your post.... How can he refuse to abide­ by the ASO rules without being banned? If he had tried­ to avoid a test he would also have been banned. I'm­ not saying he is innocent but stop beleiving the French­ press who take distorting facts to a new level when it­ comes to L.A.

    From stuartc44, on Tue 2 Dec 9:34AM

  2. We can only deal with the facts....LA has never tested­ positive, so to claim that is the fault of the testers­ is disingenious. Having by extension lost out, due to­ sponsors withdrawing because of positive tests in­ recent TDFs, I welcome the return of LA as a marketing­ boon to the TDF whether the ASO, or Contador like it or­ not.The fact is, that the event survives on­ sponsorship, period.I was lucky enough only yesterday­ to stand on a chilly Gran Canarian hill chatting to­ Miguel Indurain who was surrounded by adoring fans (­ inc me) as he told me about his snowbound farm in­ Pamplona.To see old Italian & Spanish riders with­ broad smiles on their faces as they waiting to shake­ his hand told me once again that cycling is so­ beautiful, so let's protect it by being positive­ and look forward to some thrilling cycling action in­ Europe next year.

    From Raymond L, on Tue 2 Dec 8:46AM

  3. It'll be interesting to see what noises the entire­ Astana team make on the Drugs issue, in the case of­ Armstrong i think his intention is to ride respectably­ in both the Giro and the TDF knowing he wont win but­ he'll be able to ride clean, then hope that this­ makes everyone say "oh well he's a clean rider­ and so he must have won his 7 tours clean as a­ whistle". He's trying to erase the dark clouds­ he left the sport under in order to polish his­ "legend" status for the future.
    Saying that­ i'll still be watching and no doubt the build up to­ the tour next year will be huge, regardless of what i­ think of Armstrong i think the interest in the sport he­ will create can only be good for cycling.

    From markleary23, on Tue 2 Dec 8:27AM

  4. fantastic news, one thing is sure he will make the tour­ really worth watching again. vive le tour vive lance.­ bring it on. regarding doping it has never been proved­ that he doped and he was tested more than any other­ rider, i agree with cantolino he is the greatest ever­ and lets see how he does next year.

    From ralph, on Tue 2 Dec 6:57AM

  5. Just because Lance wasn't tested positive­ doesn't prove a thing, it just means there are more­ advances in undetectable doping in his camp.

    From slivatree, on Tue 2 Dec 5:09AM

  6. Raymond K: If cycling is "stupid" what the­ hell are you doing here wasting your time???

    From mfreie, on Tue 2 Dec 3:09AM

  7. Lance Amstrong is a fantastic athlete who over came on­ of the deadliest diseases to win seven straight tdf. I­ think the french people hate to see an american­ dominate so they trump up these fake charges to make­ him look bad. He never tested positive in any of the­ seven races and is considered by many to be the­ greatest cyclist of all time.

    From cantolino22, on Tue 2 Dec 1:53AM

  8. cycling is stupid anyway

    From Raymond K, on Tue 2 Dec 12:49AM

  9. Nobody has been in danger?
    Merckx was punched in the­ kidney by a spectator back in 1975!
    Plenty of danger I­ say...

    From kesh_sawai, on Tue 2 Dec 12:02AM

  10. lets see how the race goes

    From iancampbell11, on Tue 2 Dec 12:00AM

  11. first i hated him but after the years went by youve got­ to admire him. come on , a cyclist is tested positive­ every week , he is competing in the same conditions as­ the other 140 in the tdf

    From stewartgreen, on Mon 1 Dec 11:59PM

  12. fantasic i will look forward to a more exciting t.d.f.

    From powermouse, on Mon 1 Dec 11:15PM

  13. the dark lord returns !

    From kc, on Mon 1 Dec 10:49PM

  14. the dark lord returns !

    From kc, on Mon 1 Dec 10:49PM

  15. I don't understand this article. First of all­ L'Equipe and ASO has never claimed anything. Former­ TDF Greg Lemond, and I think Armstrong's ex-wife­ said that he used illicit products on the TDF.­ Moereover, Armstrong worked with doctor Ferrari, who­ was a genius in providing cyclists illicit products­ (including an italian guy who died a few years ago).­ Finally, if the ASO people don't like Armstrong, it­ is because he keeps playing a strange game with them.­ He has always tried to avoid bood testings. What makes­ me sick in this article is that Armstrong, who­ obviously does not like France, claims that he will be­ in danger in France. Nobody has ever been in danger on­ this fantastic race. We are civilzed people. Serious­ journalists should not repeat blindly Armstrong's­ arguments. And by the way, Armstrong also said that he­ might not comply to ASO rules regarding illicit­ products

    From Lisle-Boisseau, on Mon 1 Dec 10:30PM

  16. contador is a good bet , but i would'nt bet against­ lance being there or there abouts. its whether he's­ still got the legs .

    From gareth, on Mon 1 Dec 10:14PM

  17. Contador will destroy everyone next year.­ Armstrong's presence will certainly add that­ something extra though! Can't wait.

    From duncan m, on Mon 1 Dec 9:59PM

  18. Well im definitely very pleased!!! should be a good­ specatacle. I dont think theres anyway this man­ cheated. He has never tested positive even though hes­ been one of the most tested athletes ever!!! Hes just a­ true legend.

    From djwiners, on Mon 1 Dec 9:29PM
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