TOUR DE FRANCE: ARMSTRONG CAN RACE IN 2009

Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme says they would accept Lance Armstrong in the event of a possible comeback in 2009.

?From the moment his team - which we don't yet know the name of - and he has agreed to the rules, particularly those governing doping and anti-doping, we would accept him,? Prudhomme told French news agency AFP.

Prudhomme added that suspicions had surrounded Lance Armstrong?s victories since 1999. Armstrong has promised that he will put all of his internal blood testing online, and has already signed up to the USA anti-doping agency's whereabouts scheme.

?It?s not possible for a rider not to abide by the rules, which are stronger [now]. The perception of how things are in this sport has changed.

"I would look at this comeback from the point of view of a sporting challenge. There are very few athletes who have succeeded, as [basketball star] Michael Jordan did.

"It would be a real challenge for him to come back after three years in retirement, even if he has finished second in a mountain bike race recently.

"On top of that, there?s the question of his age. Armstrong will be 37 in a week?s time. Of course, [French cycling legend] Raymond Poulidor finished second in the Tour at 38 [in 1974] and third in 1976 when he was 40.

"But in any case, it?s only mid-September. There?s a long way to go before the start in Monaco next July.?

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