Lance Armstrong Planning More Tour De France's in His Future

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is not set to retire again after this year's Tour de France. After completing the ninth stage at the 2009 Tour de France, he was asked if this would be his last year in this premier race. Armstrong replied that this year's Tour will "probably not" be his last. "Maybe one more Tour," he added. Armstrong is a cancer survivor, who is best known for winning a record seven consecutive Tour de France's from 1999 to 2005, breaking the previous record of five wins.

Armstrong retired for the first time on July 24, 2005, after winning his last Tour, the 2005 Tour de France, by over 4 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. Six out of the seven Tour victories have been by over 4 minutes over the second place finisher. The retirement came as a surprise to many, as Armstrong was still at the top of his game, despite his growing age.

After being retired for three years, Armstrong announced his comeback to pro cycling on September 9, 2008, with his goal being to partake in the 2009 Tour de France. Many people didn't take this comeback seriously and thought it was only a publicity stunt. Armstrong said that he was taking this comeback seriously, and was racing for cancer awareness. Armstrong participated in the Tour Down Under in January 2009, finishing 29th, his first race since retiring. Armstrong later participated in two more races (Vuelta a Castilla y Leon & Tour of the Gila) before entering this year's Tour de France.

Armstrong is one of the oldest cyclists in the Tour this year but is still in peak condition and one of the hardest workers. Currently, he is one of the contenders to win the 2009 Tour de France. After nine stages, he is currently third place in the standings, only eight seconds behind the leader, Rinaldo Nocentini, and two seconds behind Astana teammate and rival Alberto Cantador. Armstrong's real strength is in the Alps, and that will be coming in the coming week. The late stages will determine the winner.

Armstrong has been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during his career by reporters and other cyclists. Armstrong has passed every single test he has taken, and has referred to himself as "the most tested athlete in the world." Armstrong passed his 24th test by the French Anti-doping Agency, a few months ago, tested negative for performance-enhancing drugs.

I think that Armstrong is doing a great thing in racing for cancer awareness and should do it for as long as he can. A few more victories in the Tour de France would solidify himself as being the greatest cyclist of all time. All the best of luck in the future for Lance Armstrong!