Print this page

Armstrong confirms comeback

Lance Armstrong has confirmed he plans to come out of retirement in a bid to become the oldest ever Tour de France winner.

The 36-year-old won the last of his seven titles back in 2005 before quitting the sport.

But he told Vanity Fair magazine: "I'm going back to professional cycling. I'm going to try and win an eighth Tour de France."

The American decided to end his retirement after finishing second in last month's Leadville 100, a mountain bike race through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

"This kind of obscure bike race totally kick-started my engine," he added. "For me it's always been about the process. The process of getting there is the best part."

But Armstrong admitted that age is starting to catch up with him.

"I get up out of bed a little slow," he said. "I mean, I'm not going to lie. My back gets tired quicker than it used to and I get out of bed a little slower than I used to.

"But when I'm going, when I'm on the bike, I feel just as good as I did before.

"Older athletes are performing very well. Ask serious sports physiologists and they'll tell you age is a wives' tale.

"Athletes at 30, 35 mentally get tired. They've done their sport for 20, 25 years and they're like, 'I've had enough.' But there's no evidence to support that when you're 38 you're any slower than when you were 32."