Armstrong doubts Tour chances

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The American, 37, announced he would be seeking an entry into the 2009 Tour De France as a member of the Astana team at a press conference in New York.

Armstrong retired in 2005 following his seventh consecutive victory in Le Tour but will resume his road racing career in a bid to raise awareness of cancer issues through his "Livestrong" programme and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

He will be reunited with Johan Bruyneel, his former sporting director at US Postal and Discovery, with whom the Texan won all seven of his Tour de France crowns, and will make his Astana debut in the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.

Asked if he could win the Tour de France for an eighth time, Armstrong was unsure.

"I honestly don't know," he said.

"I've been off the bike for three years and next summer it will be almost four years. With that is also the fact that I'll be almost 38 years old at the start of the 2009 Tour, so I don't know.

"I will try and be as prepared as possible. I don't know if that equals victory."

Armstrong's number one priority, he said, was the fight against cancer. The American contracted testicular cancer in 1996, which spread to his brain and lungs, but came through rigorous treatments and chemotherapy to return to cycling three years later and begin his domination of the Tour de France.

"Carrying the Livestrong message around the world, whether it be on a bicycle or through the media is the number one goal," he added.