Lance Armstrong cleared to race in Australian Tour
INT13International/SportsLance Armstrong cleared to race in Australian TourSydney, Oct 9 DPA US cyclist Lance Armstrong will make his official comeback to professional road racing in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia, organisers of the Adelaide stage race said Thursday. Cycling's world body, the International Cycling Union UCI, granted a dispensation from a drug-testing rule to allow the 37-year-old a return to cycling two weeks early. UCI rules state that a rider must be in an anti-doping programme for six months before entering competition. Armstrong announced his retirement in 2005 after winning a record seventh straight Tour de France but shocked the cycling world last month when he said he would try for an eighth triumph in the world's most prestigious road race. The Tour Down Under, the first stage race outside Europe to be accorded ProTour status, attracts some of the world's top teams. The Jan 20-25 event opens the UCI ProTour season, and professional cyclists like the Tour Down Under because it's a warm change from gruelling training in the Northern Hemisphere winter. The six-day race, won this year by up-and-coming German rider Andre Greipel, circles the picturesque Barossa Valley wine-growing region. It's an unusual format in that each stage begins and ends in Adelaide.--DPAskp/224 Words09100620
Top Stories - IANS.in
Events & Announcements

Add events related to India, Indians in India or abroad on our
Indian Events Site www.IndianEvents.org. You can add any number of
events by geography and category.
The events will be displayed on more than 50,000 websites related
to India maintained by Worldviewer.com, Inc.
You can add photographs of the event. Also use our Indian Photo
site www.IndiaInPhotos.com to upload photos related to India and
Indian FREE.
Please let your friends know about this site and our services. Thank you