Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong Planning His Retirement

By Mark Peterson

The legendary professional cyclist Lance Armstrong for once played only a supporting role in a bicycle race, helping his teammate Tom Danielson win the Tour de Georgia a day after taking over the overall lead. Armstrong, who won the event last year, said earlier in the week that he had realized his conditioning was behind schedule, so he ceded the lead spotlight to Danielson. But Armstrong still has his sights set on winning one last Tour de France title in a row before he settles into retirement afterward.

Armstrong’s disappointing performance in the Tour de Georgia was a surprising reminder of the work he has ahead of him. After the third stage of the race, he told the media, "I didn't feel great, but I thought I'd do a better ride than that. I'm probably behind on my fitness. "Last year I definitely got a jump on fitness, and this year I was way behind. I thought I caught up, but like I said, now I know I haven't. Now it's time to re-evaluate the season." Armstrong won the Tour de Georgia a year ago, and that victory was a precursor to his historic victory in Paris three months later. He’s hoping that his striking loss in this year’s race in Georgia will provide him with an even more intense drive to lead the pack in the Tour de France this summer. "We just have to improve from here," Armstrong said. "It means gaining fitness and losing weight, focusing on every little aspect of the sport--the diet, the bike, the training, the team. I think they are even a little bit behind, so we've got work to do."

Armstrong’s streak of six straight winning titles of the Tour de France, along with his widely publicized and inspiring recovery from testicular cancer, has made him a sports legend and an international celebrity. His retirement plans had been the focus of terrific media speculation in recent months, in response to many comments he made about wanting to spend more time with his children and devote more of his efforts to his campaign against cancer. His new two-year contract to race for the Discovery Channel team requires him to compete in just one more Tour de France, but he remains "100 percent committed" to his decision to retire after that race. "I hope to win one more Tour de France," he has said. "I have decided that the Tour de France will be my last race as a professional cyclist. It will be the last one, win or lose." His commitment to winning this year’s race is driven by "that dream to go out on top. That’s a big deal to me."

All eyes will be fixed on the finish line in Paris on July 24 to see whether or not Armstrong lives up to his dream. It is the hope of all Americans and cycling enthusiasts around the globe that he will be the champion sipping champagne on the Champs Elysee that day and drinking a toast to many wonderful years to come riding his bike with his children.