Franck Prevel/Associated Press

Lance Armstrong pedaled down the Champs-Élysées as the winner of the Tour de France for a record sixth time, winning the 2,106-mile race by more than six minutes.

Armstrong Will Retire After Tour De France
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

Lance Armstrong, one of the greatest competitive cyclists of all-time, announced today that this year's Tour de France would be his final professional race, saying that "my time has come."

"I have thought a lot about it, and I've gone back and forth," said Mr. Armstrong, his voice cracking with emotion at times. "I'm 100 percent committed, and the decision is final."

Mr. Armstrong, 33, has won the Tour de France, cycling's most prestigious race, a record six times, all consecutive victories.

A survivor of a bout with cancer that nearly killed him in the 1990's, Mr. Armstrong's charisma and intense cycling style, particularly on steep mountain inclines during the rigorous three-week Tour, has made him an international icon, transcending the world of cycling and making him one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.

Rumors of Mr. Armstrong's retirement have been circulating for several months, and Mr. Armstrong has said several times that he was finding it increasingly difficult to be away from his young children for the intense training regimen required of an elite cyclist.

During the news conference today in Augusta, Ga., where he will race this week, Mr. Armstrong again cited time spent away from his children as a determining factor in his decision to retire after the Tour de France, which starts July 2 and ends July 24.

"My children said, 'It's time to come home,' " he said. "They're at an age where they change daily, if not hourly. To be away now for one month is grueling. It's time for me not to miss key moments in their lives."

In addition to his children, Mr. Armstrong thanked his teammates, his sponsor, the Discovery Channel, and his companion, the singer Sheryl Crow, whom he called "a great partner." Mr. Armstrong and his wife, Kristin Armstrong, are divorced.

In 1996, at age 25, Mr. Armstrong was the top-ranked cyclist in the world when he was told he had advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. He underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove the malignant testicle, and later, brain surgery. Once he recovered, he called getting cancer "the best thing that ever happened to me," and "a special wake-up call" because it had forced him to mature and focus.

He also started the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which has raised millions for cancer research and education. The foundation's yellow "Live Strong" bracelets have become ubiquitous in many places.

Mr. Armstrong married in 1997, and three years after his cancer was diagnosed, he fathered the first of his three children and won the 1999 Tour de France by seven minutes, beginning his extraordinary string of his six consecutive Tour victories.

Today, Mr. Armstrong said he would fulfill public promises he made earlier this year and would try for a seventh Tour victory beginning July 2, and then he will leave, "win or lose."



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- posted by Michael P. Whelan @ 5:23 PM