Lance Armstrong returning to Tour Down Under

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Not that Lance Armstrong hasn’t been talking about having a Year 2 of his cycling comeback, but it became official Wednesday when the Tour Down Under announced that Armstrong, and his new Radio Shack team, will be in the 2010 race that begins Jan. 17 in South Australia.

Armstrong chose the 2009 Tour Down Under to return to cycling road racing after his 3 1/2-year retirement from the sport. South Australia Premier Michael Rann has been a vocal supporter of Armstrong’s global cancer research fundraising efforts.

The Tour Down Under is centered around the South Australia capital city of Adelaide and last year Armstrong’s appearance drew record crowds. The headline of Wednesday’s press release announcing Armstrong’s return said: ‘We got Lance.’

Why are races so happy to have Armstrong? He rode in the Tour of Ireland this week. On Tuesday Armstrong sent out a Twitter message telling anyone who might be interested could join him for a ride in Dublin. According to a VeloNews story, more than 1,000 riders showed up.

-- Diane Pucin