Rejuvenated Armstrong ready for road

LANCE ARMSTRONG vowed last night to swap his designer suit for racing lycra and get on his bike in a global campaign to raise awareness of cancer treatment and prevention.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, who last dismounted on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in 2005, confirmed his return to professional cycling in 2009, when he will ride for Team Astana.

Le Tour is back on the 37-year-old Armstrong’s agenda but victory would be an unexpected bonus rather than the main priority, the American explained, following a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative in a Manhattan hotel.

Asked if he could win the Tour de France for an eighth time, Armstrong replied: “I honestly don’t know. I’ve been off the bike for three years, and next summer it will be almost four years. With that is also the fact I’ll be almost 38 years old at the start of the 2009 Tour, so I don’t know.

“I will tr be as prepared as possible. I don’t know if that equals victory.”

Armstrong’s number one objective, he said, was the fight against cancer, which he has campaigned full-time for since his retirement through his Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Livestrong programme.

The American contracted testicular cancer in 1996, which spread to his brain and lungs, but came through rigorous treatments and aggressive chemotherapy to return to cycling three years later and begin his domination of the Tour de France.

“Carrying the Livestrong message around the world, whether it be on a bicycle or through the media, is the number one goal,” he said.

Armstrong revealed he would be reuniting with Johan Bruyneel, his former sporting director at former teams US Postal and Discovery, where the Texan won all seven of his Tours de France, and would make his Astana debut in the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.

“As a friend and a partner, and as someone I can really trust Johan on every little decision, I could not imagine racing against him or without him,” said Armstrong.

“So Johan and I will be together in 2009 and my first race will be in Australia, the Tour Down Under.

“The only other races I can say I’m doing for sure are the Tour de France and the Leadville 100.”

The Leadville 100 is a mountain bike race Armstrong competed in this summer in Colorado. He came second and the cycling legend said that helped him rediscover that “I truly love to ride bikes for long hours every day”.

Bruyneel is “directeur sportif” at Astana, which has suffered from two doping scandals to high-profile team members Andrei Kashekin and Alexander Vinokourov, both of whom were barred from the 2008 Tour de France and are currently serving bans from the sport.

Astana has also seen success, however, with team leader Alberto Contador winning the prestigious Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta in his native Spain this year. Contador, however, expressed concerns his status within the team would be compromised by the arrival of Armstrong.

Responding to Contador, Armstrong said he wanted to ride with the Spaniard.

“I think there’s room for all of us on that team: myself, Alberto, Levi (Leipheimer) and Johan, who’s quite the personality himself.

“Alberto is the best rider on the planet. We have to understand that, we have to respect that and I’m not sure that I can ride that fast anymore.

“So I hope it works out... I would encourage him to give this situation an opportunity and I’m looking forward to racing with him.”

Recognising the low standing cycling occupies in the public eye, following a string of damaging doping scandals as well as doubts surrounding his own performances in successive Tours, Armstrong also unveiled his own personal anti-doping programme, overseen by anti-doping guru Don Catlin.

Whether it be the 100m dash or the 100m freestyle, people question good performances,” said Armstrong.

“In the off chance I do perform well, I didn’t want to leave any doubt I reached out to Don and asked him to oversee this programme and be completely independent.”

Armstrong is capable of winning an eighth Tour de France even if it is not his primary concern, according to International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid.

“He genuinely could win the Tour de France,” said Irishman McQuaid.

“To all sceptics I would say ‘give him a chance’. I don’t believe he’s a cheat,” McQuaid also added.