Armstrong: I can deliver

Lance Armstrong believes his Tour Down Under experience has strengthened his belief he can deliver a successful comeback year.

Armstrong failed to win a stage or a King of the Mountain jersey at the seven-day event and finished 29th overall but the 37-year-old said he did draw positives from the race.

“It’s given me reassurance that I can still do this,” Armstrong said.

“You don’t know, you’ve been out for three-and-a-half years, the body can deteriorate and gets older and it reassures me that I worked hard, I’ve done the right work and I think I can still race at the highest level.

“We haven’t done any specific work, we’ve just been riding, riding ... so it’s good that we are at this level and are out just basically riding for fun.”

The seven-time Tour de France winner’s visit to Adelaide has been a massive publicity success for both the event and his cancer awareness campaign.

Armstrong has not always been known for his accessibility but said his time out of the sport had given him an opportunity to look at things from an objective standpoint.

“I can look at my career, I can look at my relationship with the press, I can look at my relationship with my fans, I can look at my relationship with the peloton and I can reassess those,” he said. “I’ve changed some things.

“My relationship with you guys [the media] is a two-way street. I understand you guys have a job to do – if I finish the race, jump in my car and get the hell out of here you are standing here saying, ’I’ve got to make something up and that’s not good for you and it’s not good for me because inevitably it’s not positive pieces’.

“I’ve learned it’s better to hang for 10 minutes with you guys, get the material you need, and then get on with our day.”

Meanwhile, Armstrong was full of praise for the Tour’s overall winner, Australian Allan Davis.

“He was seemingly invincible in one or two stages and controlled the race very well, he never panicked, he raced like a true pro,” he said.

It was mutual respect from Davis who said having Armstrong in the race provided all riders with a “very special feeling”.

“I was at the last Tour de France when he last won it, in his retiring year,” Davis said.

“Not just on the bike he’s an unbelievable human being, I mean what he’s done is an encouragement to anyone, not only in cycling but in all aspects of life.”