Armstrong cleared for comeback race
cycling
Cycling's governing body is relaxing its rules to allow Lance Armstrong to make his comeback at a road race in Australia in January. The International Cycling Union said yesterday that the seven-time Tour de France champion can compete in the Jan. 20-25 Tour Down Under, his first race since coming out of retirement after three years. A strict application of testing rules would not have allowed the Texan, 37, to compete until Feb. 1, 2009, six months after he filed paperwork with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. But the UCI said Armstrong could return early because its drug-testing standards have improved since the rule was drawn up four years ago. Armstrong's comeback is meant to draw attention to his global campaign to fight cancer, a disease he survived before winning seven straight Tours from 1999 to 2005. It is also a defiant stand against critics who doubt he could have achieved those victories without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Now he is liable to be tested at any time without notice and will have his own biological passport as part of a UCI-backed initiative to monitor possible doping offenses.
