Armstrong Sends a Message, Seeking 7th Straight Tour Title Source: New York Times

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After mulling the decision for more than six months, Lance Armstrong announced yesterday that he would compete in this year’s Tour de France.

Armstrong revealed his plans for the Tour, cycling’s most prestigious race, and the 2005 season in a statement on the Web site for his team, Discovery Channel. He said he was looking forward to winning the Tour de France for the seventh year in a row.

“I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing, although my condition is far from perfect,” Armstrong, 33, said in the announcement.

His coach, Chris Carmichael, said last night that Armstrong made his decision to race in the Tour during the team’s training camp in January. Armstrong was sluggish when he arrived after taking eight extra weeks off, and Carmichael had a feeling he would skip this year’s Tour. But Armstrong slowly began to turn into the cyclist of old.

“We started talking about goals,” Carmichael said, “and he started saying, ‘If I’m going to suffer in training, I might as well suffer for the biggest race of all, the Tour de France.’ When he started thinking about it, I think he realized that nothing motivates him like the Tour de France does.”