Armstrong happy with racing return

A crowd of 138,000 people flocked to Adelaide’s Rymill Park to watch seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in the Cancer Council Classic, a prelude to the 2009 Tour Down Under.

The 30-lap criterium, which covered a total distance of 51 kilometres, was won by Australian Robbie McEwen ahead of Willem Stroetinga and Graeme Brown.

Armstrong, 37, finished in 64th place, 23 seconds behind the winner but happy to have a race under his belt.

“It was tough,” Armstrong admitted. “I think the last time I did a criterium of this style was in 1990.

“It was a tough criterium and I found it safer and a little easier in the back.

“It’s fun to get back in there but it will probably take a while and I need to get more power and do some more hills.

“I felt good, I’ve trained a lot for this comeback. I’m glad the first day is over and now we can get into the race and maybe relax a little bit more.

“There was a lot of anxiety before today.”

The Tour Down Under begins in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood on Tuesday morning.