Astana dismiss reports of Armstrong comeback

Reports of a possible comeback by seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong were dismissed as a rumour yesterday by Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel.

The cycling magazine Velonews reported on Monday that Armstrong proposed to come out of retirement to compete in next year's Tour with the Astana team.

"I think it's a rumour, nothing else," Astana manager Johan Bruyneel said. "I didn't talk to him (Armstrong) and there has been no contact between him and Astana."

Bruyneel, who has had a close relationship with Armstrong for years and was the American's team director at Discovery Channel, did not rule out speaking to Armstrong about his project.

"We could talk but first of all I would need to know if it's more than a rumour and, if it is, I would need to know about his motivations," Bruyneel said.

Velonews cited sources as saying that the 36-year-old would compete in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France.