Armstrong to ride in Tour de France, seek seventh win

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PARIS (AP) -- Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will attempt his seventh consecutive win in cycling's most prestigious race this summer.

Armstrong's schedule ``will include this summer's Tour de France, where he will go for a seventh straight victory,'' his Discovery Channel team said on its Web site Wednesday.

``I am grateful for the opportunity that Discovery Communications has given the team and look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory),'' it quoted the Texan as saying.

The announcement ended speculation about whether Armstrong would skip the race to focus on other events. Last year he became the first cyclist to win the Tour de France six times.

``I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect,'' Armstrong said in the statement.

Armstrong will start his season with the Paris-Nice stage race in March. He will then race in the Tour of Flanders on April 3, before seeking to defend his title at the Tour de Georgia in the United States later that month, the statement said.

Armstrong added that he and team manager Johan Bruyneel ``will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar.''