Armstrong 'oui' to Tour de France
 |  Armstrong in his now customary yellow jersey of leader of the Tour de France. |
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LONDON, England -- American cycling superstar Lance Armstrong has confirmed that he will be taking part in this year's Tour de France as he bids for an unprecedented seventh win in a row.
The decision, announced by his Discovery Channel team on Wednesday, ends speculation that Armstrong would skip the Tour to concentrate on other major events.
His 2005 racing schedule includes the Tour de France, next month's Paris-Nice classic, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Georgia.
"I look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory)," Armstrong, who won an record-breaking sixth victory on the back of five stage wins last year, told the Discovery Channel website.
"I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect.
"(We) will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar," the 33-year-old said.
Armstrong, who made a well-documented recovery from life-threatening cancer, to dominate cycling best-known race, has been criticized for concentrating his entire season around the Tour de France.
With new sponsors in the Discovery Channel for his former US Postal team, there had been rumors that the Texan would abandon his single-minded pursuit of cycling's blue riband to tackle other major Tours, one-day classics and the world championships.
He is also thought to be eyeing a tilt at the world hour record, currently held by Britain's Chris Boardman, but such ambitions will be put on hold until after this July's Tour.
"Johan (Bruyneel, the team's sports manager) and I will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar," said Armstrong.
Bruyneel said from Brussels that they had opted for the more realistic option.
"There were two possibilities which had been agreed in the contract with the sponsor," said Bruyneel.
"Either to ride in the Tour this year or the next one. We opted for the most realistic solution. It is easier to prepare for a similar goal six months ahead of it than 18 months.
"Lance feels sufficiently strong mentally to race again in the Tour de France, which will be his main target this season.
"And you know, if Armstrong takes part in such an event it is with just one goal in mind. To win it," added Bruyneel
Reuters contributed to this report.
