Angry Lance wants revenge

2005-09-06 18:03

Washington - Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is considering coming out of retirement in a bid to take revenge on the hosts of the world's biggest race following a spate of doping accusations, an Austin, Texas newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"I'm thinking about it," the Austin American-Statesman quoted Armstrong as saying. "I'm thinking it's the best way to piss (the French) off."

Armstrong told the newspaper he had been thinking about a comeback for only the past two weeks, since French sports daily L'Equipe reported on August 23 that urine samples taken from Armstrong in 1999 during his first Tour triumph tested positive for the banned substance EPO.

Asked how serious he was about another Tour, Armstrong replied: "I'm exercising every day."

Armstrong retired in July after winning his seventh straight Tour de France but expectations of relaxing holidays with his three kids and his new fiancee, rock star Sheryl Crow, have been tempered by a spate of doping allegations.

The Texan has vehemently denied taking any performance-enhancing drugs however a number of experts and former employees have come out of the woodwork to denounce the Texan champion.

Johan Bruyneel, the 33-year-old Armstrong's team manager at Discovery Channel, admitted that nothing concrete had been decided but the door was still open for a return.

"We could decide during our training camp in December (in the United States), which will be decisive (for the Tour)," Bruyneel told the Belgian news agency Belga.

"But don't make me say that Lance has already decided what he will do with the rest of his career. That said, we speak for 15 minutes on the phone every day, and for 13 of those we talk about cycling."

- AFP