Reports suggest that Lance Armstrong could return to the Tour de France next year. Photograph: Peter de Jong/ AP

Rumours that the American cyclist Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement next year to compete in five road races, enabling him to compete for an eighth Tour de France title, have sparked confusion.

Armstrong, 37 next week, retired from cycling in 2005 but was reported on the website VeloNews to be returning to represent the Astana team in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour de France.

The report also stated that Armstrong would receive neither salary nor bonuses for the races and post online his internally tested blood analysis, but its validity remains open to doubt after Astana claimed to have no knowledge of Armstrong’s proposed return.

Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens was categoric that the Texan would not ride for them. “He is not part of our team. Team Astana has no plans with him,” he said.

Sceptics have dismissed Armstrong’s return as little more than a publicity stunt to advertise an upcoming feature in Vanity Fair magazine, but he recently competed in his first significant event since 2005, finishing second in the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado.

Armstrong re-enrolled himself into the US Anti-Doping Agency’s out-of-competition testing pool prior to the race, leading to rumours of a return as USADA rules state that any athlete who wishes to come out of retirement must enroll in the USADA out-of-competition testing programme for at least six months in advance of regaining eligible status.

Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996 but beat the disease before embarking on his remarkable run of seven consecutive Tour de France victories between 1999 and 2005.

He has remained active since his retirement, running twice in the New York City marathon and also the Boston marathon.

About this articleCloseCycling: Confusion surrounds rumours of Armstrong Tour de France return This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday September 09 2008. It was last updated at 11:22 on September 09 2008.

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