Armstrong to Race in Next Year's Giro D'italia

Lance Armstrong will compete in the Giro D'Italia for the first time next year as part of his return to competitive cycling.

Organizers of the three-week stage race say the 37 year-old, who retired in 2005, has agreed to take part in the Italian event as it celebrates its centenary year. Scheduled for May 9-31, it is two months before the Tour de France, where Armstrong will seek to claim his eighth victory. "I will give my utmost, and not only to prepare for the Tour," Armstrong said in a statement from race organizer RCS Sport. "Not having taken part in the Giro was one of my biggest regrets as a rider. Finally I will be able to do it."

It was announced last week that the 37 year-old had been cleared by the International Cycling Union to ride in the Tour Down Under in January, which is set to mark the end of his retirement, despite riders being required to give six months' notice in line with its anti-doping program.