Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced on Monday that he plans to retire from cycling after seeking a seventh consecutive victory along the French roadways next July.
"The Tour de France will be my last as a professional cyclist," Armstrong said.
"It will be the last one, win or lose. Having said that, I'm fully committed to winning a seventh title," he said.
PHOTO: EPA
The 33-year-old American overcame life-threatening cancer to become the greatest champion in cycling's most famous race but has often said he wants to spend more time with his children and his companion, pop singer Sheryl Crow.
"They are the ones who made it easier in the suffering, but they are also the ones who told me, `It's time to come home,'" Armstrong said of his children.
Armstrong's reasons for retiring came as no surprise to the head organizer of the Tour de France, Jean-Marie Leblanc.
"We thought he would retire. The fact he has to come over to Europe and leave his children behind doesn't surprise us that he has made this decision," Leblanc said.
Armstrong, defending his crown in the Tour of Georgia stage race that started yesterday, made his farewell revelation 3km from where golfer Tiger Woods signaled his return to form by winning the Masters eight days ago.
"I'm 100 percent committed, and the decision is final. The outlet for me will have to be via the team. I think we can develop another Tour de France winner," Armstrong said.
Armstrong was given only a 40 percent chance to survive in 1994 after doctors discovered he had brain, lung and testicular cancer but he beat those odds and went on to become a US sports celebrity and global cycling icon.
"Ultimately, athletes have to retire. My time has come. The body just doesn't keep going and going," Armstrong said.
However, Leblanc thought it was more the Texan losing his mental toughness than any physical decline.
"Maybe this weariness will affect his effectiveness in the Tour this year. It is neither a wish nor a hope of mine, simply my analysis," Leblanc said.
The inspiration Armstrong draws and gives cancer survivors is a factor for Armstrong.
"Certain times I have relied on a special force. To have them to fall back on, not only do they inspire me but I hope I can inspire them. I hope to give them one more Tour de France," he said.
The Texan's foundation raises money for cancer research and more than 40 million of his yellow wristbands have been sold. Sponsorship deals and book sales netted Armstrong more than US$19 million last year by some estimates.
But the heroics and fame have not come without controversy.
In 2003, Armstrong divorced wife Kristen, the mother of his twin daughters who had helped him thought his cancer fight, and began a relationship with Crow.
Armstrong has never failed a doping test, but he has been nagged by accusations of taking banned performance-enhancing substances throughout his years of success.
Armstrong's contract with new team sponsor Discovery Channel requires him to race in just one more Tour de France, with this week's 1,040km US race serving as a tuneup and the start of his farewell tour in a rare US appearance.
Armstrong, who turns 34 in September, retired from the Paris-Nice race after three stages with illness.
Other US riders are concerned that Armstrong's success has not inspired a new generation of American cyclists to fill his void.
"I don't see anyone. That's the problem. There's a big gap between us guys, 32-33-34 years old, and the growth we should see," Paris-Nice winner Bobby Julich said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB