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Goodbye, Armstrong

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-18 08:16

Lance Armstrong, who recovered from cancer to win the Tour de France a record seven times, formally announced his retirement from cycling on Wednesday, a month after his last race. The 39-year-old American, who made a comeback to the sport two years ago, said he was quitting for good to spend more time with his family and his charities.

"Today, I am announcing my retirement from professional cycling in order to devote myself full-time to my family, to the fight against cancer and to leading the foundation I established before I won my first Tour de France," he said in a statement.

Although he never failed a dope test and always denied doping, Armstrong was dogged by accusations of wrongdoing during his career.

Last year, former teammate Floyd Landis, while confessing to cheating himself, accused Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs.

US federal authorities are investigating Landis's claims, but have not laid any charges and Armstrong said he had nothing to fear because he had done nothing wrong.

"They can keep looking," he told reporters in Australia last month. "If you're trying to hide something, you wouldn't keep getting away with it for 10 years. Nobody is that clever."

Armstrong initially retired from cycling in 2005 but returned in 2009, finishing third in the Tour in his first year back. His final race was at the relatively low-key Tour Down Under in Australia last month.

"He's leaving a real legacy and to come back and get third in the Tour at the age he was and after what he'd already accomplished is pretty impressive," Armstrong's former teammate Christian Vande Velde said from the Tour of Oman.

Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, a five-time winner of the Tour de France, said Armstrong was right to call it a day.

"It was time for him to stop," Merckx said from Oman. "He's won everything, had nothing left to prove to anybody."