Armstrong to come out of retirement and ride for Astana

Mon September 08 2008
Posted Sep 8, 2008
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Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement and compete in next year's Tour de France, VeloNews reported Monday, citing sources close to the situation. Armstrong, who will turn 37 on Sept. 18, will join the Astana team and compete in five road races, the sources told VeloNews. He will compete in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France. The sources told VeloNews that Armstrong will receive no salary or bonuses. Armstrong's manager, Mark Higgins, would not comment. Sources told VeloNews that Armstrong's comeback will be the focal point of a story in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, to be published later this month. Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer he was diagnosed with in 1996 en route to his string of Tour de France triumphs, has remained active in the three years since his retirement. In August he raced in the Leadville Trail 100, a 100-mile mountain bike race through the Colorado Rockies, finishing a close second to the six-time defending champion, Dave Wiens. It's the country's highest-altitude bicycle race. Armstrong has also run the New York and Boston marathons and was set last month to run the Chicago Marathon in October.