Lance Armstrong announced today that he will race the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia in January. It will be his first professional race since the Tour de France in July and his last outside of the USA.
"I'm excited to be competing in my last professional ride outside the US at the Santos Tour Down Under," he said. "It will be my third time to the event, and I'm sure I will enjoy it as much as I have the first two times."
Armstrong, 39, first participated in the weeklong race last year to launch his comeback from retirement and promote his Livestrong Cancer organisation. He returned this year to help launch team RadioShack.
Despite an ongoing federal investigation into claims that he doped and his age, he is now 39 years old, he looks forward to a third appearance.
"I will never forget the reception we received in Adelaide when we kicked off the Livestrong global campaign," he added. "I look forward to racing and also checking in on the progress in South Australia."
It is an opportunity for to boost his RadioShack team, who faces difficulty finding a replacement sponsor for 2012 without Armstrong. He helped begin the team during the 2009 season while racing for team Astana and secured RadioShack's sponsorship for two years.
Without Armstrong, though, the team lacks new, promising riders. Armstrong hoped Taylor Phinney would turn professional with RadioShack after two years in its feeder team, but he signed for BMC Racing last month. At the World Championships last month, Phinney won the Under 23 time trial and a bronze medal in the road race.
Armstrong is more concerned with a doping investigation that began in April with the help of his former US Postal team-mate, Floyd Landis. Landis sent e-mails to USA Cycling outlining the team's doping practices, which included blood transfusions and testosterone patches, and how the team used sponsor's money to fund doping.
A grand jury is convened in Los Angeles to hear evidence regarding the alleged doping and fraud charges. Investigators have issued subpoenas to individuals, including Armstrong's former team-mate Tyler Hamilton and three-time Tour de France winner, American Greg LeMond. Investigators have also requested documents from Armstrong's long-time sponsors, Nike and Trek.
Armstrong repeatedly said he has never used performance-enhancing drugs or participated in blood doping.
Regardless, the premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, welcomes the attention Armstrong brings to his state.
"The impact Lance has had," said Rann, "on the Tour Down Under and the interest in cycling in South Australia has been astounding."
Last year, Armstrong promoted an impromptu ride by Twitter. He led around 5000 cyclists on ride around Adelaide.