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.

Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement next year to compete in five road races with the Astana team, according to sources familiar with the developing situation.

Armstrong, who turns 37 this month, will compete in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France — and will race for no salary or bonuses, the sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told VeloNews.

Armstrong's manager, Mark Higgins, did not respond to questions.

However sources close to the story have told VeloNews that an exclusive article on the matter will be published in an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, expected later this month.

Rumors of Armstrong's return swirled at last week’s Eurobike trade show in Germany and this week’s Tour of Missouri.

The rumor speculates that Armstrong will reunite with former team manager Johan Bruyneel at Team Astana — a viable option given Armstrong’s long-lasting relationships not only with the Belgian director but also Trek, Astana’s bike sponsor.

According to sources, the Texan will post all of his internally tested blood work online, in an attempt to establish complete transparency and prove that he is a clean athlete.

The rumor, which has been rampant for nearly a month, gained legs when former Discovery Channel team director Dirk Demol signed with Astana for 2009.

“I am excited to be reunited with Johan Bruyneel," Demol said. "What Johan has been able to do this year with Team Astana is quite special and admirable and I look forward to being a part of his program once again. It will be a new team with some familiar faces, but I know the winning philosophy and structure have remained the same.”

Other rumors are that Armstrong will continue to pursue mountain bike racing, and may try his hand at cyclocross as well.

Should Armstrong return with Astana, it would bolster a squad that arguably boasts the sport’s best stage-racing team.

In Missouri, Columbia rider George Hincapie, a close friend of Armstrong’s and the only man to ride on all seven of the Texan’s Tour winning teams, simply smiled when asked what he’d knew about the rumor, saying, “I don’t know anything.”

Armstrong re-enrolled himself into the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s out-of-competition testing pool prior to August’s Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, where he finished second to Dave Wiens, said USA Cycling chief operating officer Sean Petty.

USADA rules state that any athlete who wishes to come out of retirement must enroll in the USADA out-of-competition testing program for at least six months in advance of regaining eligible status.

A return to racing would no doubt bring large crowds to American races, and could perhaps save the Tour de Georgia, which is struggling to land a title sponsor.

Petty said that should Armstrong wish to return to racing, “it would be one of most exciting things to happen to American racing since he won his seventh Tour. Depending on his plan, if that is what he wanted to do, it would be tremendously exciting and would generate a tremendous amount of attention on the sport, and on what he’s doing. People would be very interested to see how he would do in a comeback.”

The last big-name rider to return from retirement was Italian Mario Cipollini, who signed with Rock Racing and competed at this year’s Amgen Tour of California after three years away from the sport. Cipollini failed to win a stage, but took third in a field sprint and said, “This finish means as much to me as any victory.” Following the race Cipollini had a contractual dispute with Rock team owner Michael Ball, and left the team.

French reactions to Armstrong comeback

Prudhomme welcomes American "in principle"

By Hedwig Kröner
<table align="left"> <caption class="small" align="bottom"> Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has no objections to Armstrong racing the 2009 event if he sticks to current anti-doping tests
Photo ©: John Pierce</caption> <tbody><tr> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> The sensitive relationship between the seven-time Tour de France winner and the home country of the greatest bike race on earth, France, is once again put to the test with the announcement of Lance Armstrong's comeback in 2009. The American's bid to win the Grande Boucle once again after three years of retirement from the sport has triggered many reactions in the homeland of cycling; most of them not of a positive nature. Still, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said that Armstrong could participate in the race "if he complies with today's much more severe anti-doping rules."
The overall feeling within the French cycling community following the surprising news this week was one of bewilderment. Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of Bouygues Télécom, could not understand Armstrong's decision and even cast a new shadow of doubt on the way the American was going to try to achieve his goal. "I don't know what to think of it," he told L'Equipe. "In any case, this kind of come-back does not fit into my view of the sport. Bernard Hinault would never have done this... With Armstrong, you get the impression that everything is easy: he stops for three years and then comes back as if nothing happened. That's not how cycling works. Now, we can ask ourselves what the recipe is..."
<table align="right"> <caption class="small" align="bottom"> Bernard Hinault, the five time winner believed Armstrong could do it again
Photo ©: John Pierce</caption> <tbody><tr> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Speaking of Bernard Hinault, the five-time Tour de France winner was not as incredulous at the return of the 37 year-old champion. "Jeannie Longo is still there, and she's almost 50 years old," he commented. "Lance Armstrong has a lot of time in front of him, still. If I'm surprised at his comeback? Yes and no. Yes, because he had stopped the bike, and no, because he is not the first, nor will he be the last rider to attempt a come-back of this kind.
"Now, will he have the capacities to return to the highest level? I don't know. We shall see at Paris-Nice. Personally, I was never tempted by a come-back during my time. Instead of taking up competition once again, I think it is better not to stop in the first place."
Marc Madiot, manager of La Française des Jeux was puzzled even though respectful of Armstrong's motives. "He is dedicated to the fight against cancer, that is fine," he said. "That's good news. But I don't know if taking up competition at the highest level is the best solution for it... It appears completely surrealistic to me. We will see, but right now I can't imagine him winning the Tour de France again, or else the rest of them are all worthless... But before trying to win the Tour again, Lance Armstrong has to explain himself about what happened in 1999."
Indeed, the allegations of the American achieving his first Tour win with the help of performance-enhancing drugs (See the Latest News for August 23, 2005 as well as Cyclingnews' complete coverage of the L'Equipe claims) are still very present in the collective memory of the French cycling community. Even though the accusations were never confirmed by the International Cycling Union (UCI), most of the French public tends to believe the newspaper.
This is something even Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme noted as he commented that Armstrong was "welcome in principle" at next year's race. "If his yet unknown team as well as himself comply with today's much more severe anti-doping rules, then we will accept his participation," Prudhomme told AFP, even though "Armstrong's victories have been tarnished by suspicions since 1999."
<style type="text/css"> <!-- .cominghead { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75em; margin-left: -5px } .comingbody { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.7em; margin-left: -5px; padding: 5px} --> </style> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="125"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffcc"> <td> Coming up on

Cyclingnews will be covering the 63rd Vuelta a España live August 30 to September 21. Coverage begins around 15:00 local European time (CEST)/ 9:00 (USA East)/ 23:00 Australia (EST) - also on WAP-enabled mobile devices at http://live.cyclingnews.com/wap/

Cyclingnews will also cover the Tour of Missouri live September 8 to 14. Coverage of stage 5 begins on Friday, September 12 around 2:00 local CDT time / 21:00 local European time (CEST)/ 5:00 Australia (EST) (Sept. 9)- also on WAP-enabled mobile devices at http://live9.cyclingnews.com/wap/
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>The ASO official was mostly curious to see if Armstrong will be able to achieve an eighth Tour de France victory. "To me, this return is one of pure challenge. There are very few sportsmen who succeeded a come-back like Michael Jordan. It's a real challenge to come back after three years of retirement, even if he finished second in a mountain bike race recently. Moreover, there is his age. He will be 37 years old in one week. Now, you can always say that Raymond Poulidor came second in the Tour at the age of 38 years (in 1974), and third (in 1976) when he was 40. Still, it is now mid-September and a lot of things will be happening until the start of the next Tour de France in Monaco.

Armstrong, prepping for Tour, helps Livestrong win 12 Hours of Snowmass

Associated Press
Updated: September 14, 2008, 11:08 PM ET

<!-- end page tools --><!-- begin story body --><!-- template inline -->SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. -- Lance Armstrong charged up Fanny Hill on his mountain bike as if this were the Pyrenees.
This, however, was the inaugural 12 Hours of Snowmass race. But if Armstrong has his way it won't be too long before he's in the Pyrenees again, bidding for an eighth Tour de France crown.
Armstrong recently announced his intention of riding in the Tour in 2009. The 36-year-old cancer survivor is gearing up with races such as this steep ascent.
"We're just getting it going now," said Chris Carmichael, Armstrong's longtime coach. "For the next few months, it's just about riding, spending as much time on the bike as he can."
Armstrong was part of a three-man squad Sunday -- named Team Livestrong after his foundation -- that also included Max Taam and Len Zanni. Each takes a lap and then switches off. The winning team completes the most laps in 12 hours.
Team Livestrong won over Team Beaver Creek with both teams completing 17 laps, but Livestrong finished 6 minutes, 39 seconds faster.
"The first half, I had fun. The second half, it started to be not fun," Armstrong said with a grin.
Carmichael said Armstrong is coming back after careful consideration. His competitive fire began to return after a mountain bike race in Leadville, Colo., last month.
"He fell in love with bike racing again," Carmichael said. "This is the life he knows, the world he knows."
Can he win an eighth title?
"I wouldn't bet against him," Carmichael said. "There's only one Lance. There's no one who has the intensity, the perseverance, the dedication."
Armstrong said his goal isn't so much about winning an eighth title, but promoting cancer awareness.
"The most important issue is taking the global epidemic of cancer to a much bigger stage," said Armstrong, who turns 37 on Thursday. "The best way to do that is to race the bike all over the world."
Still, the competitor in him wouldn't allow a return if he didn't think he could be a factor -- even if he's been retired for the last three years.
"I still feel healthy enough and fit enough to go and perhaps be competitive," said Armstrong, who recently purchased a house in Aspen. "I can't make any guarantees."
Carmichael said Armstrong has contacted the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about designing a blood test specifically for him to erase any doubts about doping.
"I know he's clean. He's never doped and never will dope," Carmichael said. "The problem with performances these days -- anytime an athlete does something exceptional, everybody looks at it as suspect. ... If Lance comes back and wins the Tour and has absolute transparency in drug testing and people are then still speculating, they're either ignorant or jealous."
Armstrong doesn't feel like he has to prove anything on the doping front, but taking part in a comprehensive program won't hurt.
"I never cheated," he said. "I'm not going to cheat in '01, I'm not going to cheat in '09, that's not going to change. We'll be able to validate it. We couldn't validate it in '01. You had to try to prove a negative. They said, 'You have something we can't find. You're sneakier, smarter than the other guys.' That's a very hard thing to work against."
Taylor Phinney, fresh off his first Olympics, cheered Armstrong from the side of the mountain trail. He was invited to train with Armstrong for a few days.
"He wanted to take me under his wing, which is super cool for me," Phinney said. "I'm just up here learning as much as I can. He's the godfather of cycling."
Phinney says Armstrong is just what the Tour needs.
"There wasn't anybody who took control and was the clear winner of the Tour," he said. "What Lance did every year, he just destroyed everybody and made it clear that he was the guy. I think he's still got it. I'm excited to see what happens."
Now he just needs to find a team. Last week, cycling journal VeloNews reported on its Web site that Armstrong would compete with the Astana team in the Tour.
But there are no guarantees Astana will race in the 2009 Tour. Race officials kept the team out this year because of previous doping violations.
"It's still getting put together," Carmichael said. "That [Astana] is looking like the best one."
Armstrong was second to Jay Henry of Team Beaver Creek on his first run through the course Sunday.
Afterward, he sat down for a brief break, a crowd gathering to snap photos. He then hopped up, got back on his bike and coasted back to his hotel to rest up for his next turn.
That was a familiar theme for Armstrong, who used the hotel breaks to rest, watch some football and munch on Nutella and banana sandwiches.
Armstrong arrived in Snowmass Village on Saturday after spending time in Canada as part of a cancer fundraising ride.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

ARMSTRONG'S ARRIVAL COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR TEAM ASTANA
SOMMA LOMBARDO, Italy - Alberto Contador said Friday he will quit the Astana cycling team if his leadership is put in doubt by the arrival of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong announced Wednesday he was joining Astana, reuniting him with his friend Johan Bruyneel after three years in retirement. Now Astana's team director, Bruyneel coached Armstrong during his Tour victories.

"I spoke with Johan about the Tour next year and he said there is no problem and that I will be the leader, but Lance Armstrong is a champion and I think he will want to race to win," Contador, 25, told The Associated Press in an interview. "I am sure that he also wants to be the leader of the team."

Contador, winner of the 2007 Tour de France, said he has received offers to sign with other cycling teams, though he is not considering them right now.

"If I am not happy I will change teams," the Spaniard said. "The team has said it has complete confidence in me, but this is a particular situation and I will have to see what happens in the coming weeks to then decide what is best for my future. Four weeks from now the situation could be completely different."

Contador, who is under contract with Astana until 2010, said his main objective for next year's season is the Tour de France. That could put him on a collision course with Armstrong, who also plans to race in the Tour in a bid for an eighth victory.

"I respect Armstrong. He has done incredible things, but I don't think that I have to prove to anybody that I should be the leader," said Contador, who is in Italy preparing for Sunday's road race at the world championships. "I want to be sure the team guarantees that I will be in the Tour as the team leader."

The Madrid-born rider won the Spanish Vuelta this month, completing the fastest sweep of the three major multi-day races. Contador has won the Vuelta, the Tour and the Giro d'Italia in 15 months. On Sunday, he will be riding in support of teammates Oscar Freire and Samuel Sanchez, who are among the pre-race favourites.

Armstrong was an inspirational figure for Contador while the Spaniard was recovering form a massive blood clot in his brain in 2004. Contador has said that while recovering from surgery, he drew hope from Armstrong's book recounting his comeback from cancer.

"When I was recovering it was important for me to see that somebody could make a comeback like Armstrong did," Contador said. "At the time it was easy to have him as an idol because we were from different eras and I didn't have to ride against him. When I was finishing my recovery he was winning his last Tour, but now these eras are colliding and it's not so easy."