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Lance Armstrong to join Astana, Kazakh cycling official says

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will join Team Astana for his return to competitive cycling, the Kazakh Cycling Federation said yesterday.

Federation deputy chief Nikolai Proskurin told reporters that Armstrong agreed to ride for the Kazakhstan-based team for free the first year and has signed up to take part in five races, including the Tour de France.

Armstrong was to make a formal announcement at a news conference in New York later yesterday.

“If people say that they want to join this team, it is a sign that they must hold Kazakhstan in great regard,” Proskurin said. “He is coming to Team Astana, he’s doing it only so he can continue to win.”

Astana’s team leader is Johan Bruyneel, who was Armstrong’s team director for all of his Tour de France victories with the US Postal and Discovery teams. The two are close friends.

The deal is a coup for the Kazakh team, which was thrown out of last year’s Tour de France after Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for a blood transfusion.

Armstrong’s first race will be the Tour of California from Feb. 14 to Feb. 22, Proskurin said.

Australian officials, however, announced earlier yesterday that Armstrong would ride in the Tour Down Under from Jan. 20 to Jan. 25.

Mike Rann, premier of South Australia state, made the announcement hours ahead of the American’s planned media conference in New York to announce details of his comeback.

Armstrong’s appearance in Australia in January was also confirmed by Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur.

The six-stage Tour Down Under, the first event on next year’s world pro cycling calendar, will be raced from Jan. 20 to Jan. 25 in South Australia state, centered on the capital, Adelaide.

Armstrong announced on Sept. 9 that he planned to return to cycling after three years in retirement and would attempt to win the Tour de France an eighth time.

“The confirmation just came through that he will starting in our race in January,” said Turtur, a former Australian Olympic cyclist who won gold in team pursuit at the 1984 Olympics.

“It’s great news for Adelaide and the Tour Down Under. We’re all looking forward to the comeback of the greatest cyclist that ever raced the Tour de France,” Turtur said.

There were reports in Madrid on Tuesday that Spanish rider Alberto Contador would leave if Armstrong were to join Astana.

“I’ve earned the right to be the leader of a team without having to fight for my place,” Contador said in AS newspaper. “And with Armstrong, some difficult situations could arise in which the team would put him first and that would hurt me.”

Contador, last year’s Tour de France champion, won the Spanish Vuelta on Sunday. Combined with his Giro d’Italia title this year, he became just the fifth cyclist to win the three highest-regarded Tours.

“My intention is to stay [at Astana] because I have a contract until 2010, but I have already received a good number of offers from other teams,” he said.
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