Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong arrived in Australia last night and admitted to feeling nervous ahead of his return to competitive cycling.
Armstrong, who retired from the sport in 2005, will make his much-anticipated return to the saddle when the Tour Down Under begins in Adelaide on Sunday.
The 37-year-old Texan arrived in Australia late on Sunday night amid a beefed-up security presence, but took some time out to speak to well-wishers before he was whisked away.
Armstrong has not raced since winning his seventh Tour in July 2005 and when asked if he was feeling any nerves he replied:
'Definitely ... not right now, but I will be in a week. It is hard to compare because it has been such a long break and it has been the longest break I have had.
'It's both nervousness and excitement. I am excited to be here.'
Armstrong also offered an ominous warning for his fellow riders at next week's tour, revealing he was in the best shape of his career at this stage of a season.
'I think (my fitness) is pretty good,' Armstrong said after arriving following a nine-hour flight from Honolulu where he has been in intense training since Christmas.
'Considering other Januarys, I'm probably ahead of where I would have been in other years.
'But I've been training a lot earlier than in previous years as well so I'm optimistic.'
Armstrong will compete in the Tour Down Under for the first time as he seeks to promote the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which was formed in 1997, one year after Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The American will also race with his new Astana team-mates for the first time in Adelaide and was modest about his chances at the event, saying he was hoping to ease his way back into competition.
'I just don't want to get clobbered too bad,' he said. That's my main motivation for training hard. I don't have any illusions (about the race).
'I hope to get in the race and get re-acquainted to the tempo and the speed and what it's like to be around other Tour guys, a fast-moving group, and we will see.'
