Cycling: Armstrong to compete in Ireland

Page last updated at 15:11 GMT, Monday, 23 February 2009

Armstrong to compete in Ireland :

Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven times Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong has confirmed he will compete in the Tour of Ireland in August. Armstrong, who has returned to racing after four years, will use his appearance in the Irish event to promote his cancer charity. The 37-year-old announced the news at the end of Sunday's Tour of California where he finished seventh overall. A Livestrong Global Cancer Summit will be held in Dublin from 24-26 August, after Armstrong completes the race. "Unless we act on a global level, cancer will be the leading cause of death by 2010," said Armstrong. "Our goal is to be the catalyst that brings everyone together to fight cancer - from survivors, like me, to world leaders and policymakers who must commit completely to the effort to avoid a public health catastrophe. "The summit provides an invaluable opportunity to stand up for the 28 million cancer survivors worldwide and to create a unified effort to control cancer through new commitments to action." Tour of Ireland director Darach McQuaid said the global sports star could use the event to promote his cancer message all over the world. "The Tour of Ireland could not be more proud than to have Lance Armstrong riding once again on Irish roads in the lead-up to his global cancer summit in Dublin," said McQuaid. "The massive, positive public reaction to his comeback to the sport in Australia in January and California in February indicate that, by the time Lance arrives in Ireland next August, the interest levels will be at fever pitch." Italian Marco Pinotti won the 2008 Tour of Ireland with Isle of Man sprinter Mark Cavendish claiming three successive stages.