Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong believes he is fitter now than during the peak of his career
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Cyclist Lance Armstrong in Adelaide yesterday. pic/afp |
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong believes he is fitter now than during the peak of his career, but has nevertheless played down his chances of winning next week's Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
Armstrong, who spoke to the media in South Australia yesterday, said: "If you consider November, December, January, I've prepared much harder in these months than I ever would've in the past. The tests that we do on the bike or on the road or in the lab indicate that my January fitness is much better than it ever was when I was winning the Tour (de France).
Yet the 37-year-old added he may not be the ideal rider to triumph at the South Australian event.
"I think it would be unrealistic to expect a victory. If you look at the past winners, many times this event has come down to field sprints and time bonuses and other results like that," he said.
"The course is probably more suited to a sprinter or somebody who is super, super fit right now but again I hope to be in the mix and I could be completely wrong, I could be the first guy dropped."
