lance armstrong last tour de france

USA cyclist Lance Armstrong, seven time winner of the Tour de France, has announced that 2010 will be his final effort on the tour, the rider broke the story through his popular Twitter network site.

The Tour de France gets underway on Saturday from the Dutch city of Rotterdam and Armstrong will be looking for a strong finish for his Radioshack team.

While an eighth win on the tour seems too much to ask, it is impossible to underestimate Armstrong who already holds the record of seven wins in France and who finished in third overall last year with the Astana team. How he would love to finish his last race here in first place.

Although his team won the last Tour de France, it was team mate Alberto Contador who took the honours, following a very public dispute between the two riders that culminated in Armstrong leaving the team and forming the Radioshack team.

This year Armstrong has finished third in the Tours of Switzerland and Luxembourg while he crashed out of the Tour of California.

The seven-time Tour de France winner revealed he was keen to take part in the event which would also help boost awareness of his cancer work. The 2010 Tour Down Under takes place from January 17 to 24.

Armstrong was speaking after the final day of his global cancer summit, in Dublin, where he said he was shocked at the impromptu turnout of supporters, keen to join his ride around Dublin’s Phoenix Park last night.

The racer has used his ‘Twitter’ announcements to invite cyclists to join him during his visit to various UK destinations and was particularly surprised at the turnout in Dublin, where an estimated 1,200 riders joined their hero.

Jenson Button

On Sunday, more than 55,000 spectators lined the London streets to watch the 10,000 entrants attempting to tackle the Mazda London Triathlon.

The British Formula One driver Jenson Button, was a competitor after taking-up a challenge from the 125cc MotoGP rider Bradley Smith after Lewis Hamilton pulled-out.

Button finished the event, which comprised of 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and a 10km run, in a personal best time of 2hrs 7min 2 sec, while Smith finished only slightly after with a time of 2hrs 13min 36sec.

After the event, Button said of Smith;

“He did very well, he’s a fit lad and so am I and it’s great to show that at events like this. Our performance demonstrates that we do have to train hard to be an F1 driver or a MotoGP rider and that when we aren’t racing, we aren’t just at home sitting around and that we do have to be very fit in order to race at our level.”

It is believed that an amount of more than £3 million was raised at the event to go to charities.

alberto_contador_paris-nice_2007

Following Alberto Contador’s revelations that his relationship with team mate Lance Armstrong became so delicate and tense that it rubbed off onto the team staff, the American has hit back saying that the Spaniard ‘has a lot to learn’.

The awkward pairing of Contador and Armstrong in the Astana team was always going to be a delicate affair to manage, but the situation worsened during the three weeks of racing with neither of the riders prepared to accept second billing.

As the race progressed Contador’s dominance on the road gave him the upper hand in the power struggle, but even so the Spaniard said after the tour;

“The situation was tense and delicate because the relationship between myself and Lance extended to the rest of the staff. On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than the those on the road.”

The 26 year old champion also said that his relationship with Armstrong is ‘zero’, and added “He is a great rider but it is another thing on a personal level, where I have never had great admiration for him and I never will.”

Armstrong who had praised the Spaniard after his Tour win, said that Contador should ’stop this drivel and thank his team, without them he doesn’t win’. The seven time Tour de France winner said on his Twitter feed;

“A champion is also measured on how much he respect his teammates and opponents. There is no ‘i’ in ‘team’. What did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated.”

Contador won his second Tour de France having endured more problems in the hotel than on the road, his Tour was made more difficult he says by the constant criticism of his strategy from team mate Armstrong.

“This Tour was very difficult as you could see and although it sometimes seems easy on television it wasn’t because of other factors, the only thing I can tell you is that I will be here next year with a team that has the most secure guarantees and that is the most focused on winning this race.  There are several possibilities but what is clear is that we are totally incompatible and Armstrong will go one way and I will go the other.” Contador said after the final stage.

Despite the criticism Armstrong was quick to praise the Spaniard, saying that Contador’s performance would have beaten Armstrong’s own in his title winning years 2001, 2004 and 2005. “Contador is that good,” Armstrong said, “so I don’t see how I would have been higher than that, even in the other years.”