Lance Armstrong retiring ...

[HotCorner]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2040042

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Lance Armstrong will retire from professional cycling after this summer's Tour de France, ending one of the great careers in all sports.

"Ultimately, athletes have to retire ... the body doesn't just keep going and going," Armstrong said Monday at a news conference.

The 33-year-old Texan will attempt to win his record seventh straight Tour de France in July. Before Armstrong, Miguel Indurain's five straight Tour de France wins were the record. No other rider has won five overall.

Armstrong's streak of six straight titles, along with his inspirational recovery from testicular cancer, has made him a superstar in the sport and an international celebrity.

Armstrong's possible retirement plans had become the focus of growing speculation as he spoke in recent months that he wants to spend more time with his three children and in his campaign against cancer.

Armstrong says he is "100 percent committed" to his decision to retire and that he will not be participating in any other races after July 24 -- the scheduled end of the Tour de France.

The announcement came on the eve of Armstrong's defense of his Tour de Georgia championship. The six-day, 648-mile event he uses as a training tool for the Tour de France begins Tuesday.

His new two-year contract to race for the Discovery Channel team requires he compete in just one more Tour de France.

"I hope to win one more Tour de France," he said.

He has said previously if he retires he would amplify his high-profile role as a cancer survivor.

Armstrong's relationship with rock star Sheryl Crow has also made him the focus of the tabloids and paparazzi.

"Sheryl, you've been an amazing woman. For someone who is the queen of rock n' roll, you've been a great cycling fan ... a great teammate," he said.

[ws1990reds]

I think he did steroids, and that this is in part why he is stepping away from the sport.

[Redsland]

Aw, man. He was the best Back Street Boy of them all.

[StillFunkyB]

I think he did steroids, and that this is in part why he is stepping away from the sport.

Why do you think he did steroids?

[ws1990reds]

Why do you think he did steroids?

Do you follow cycling? How about the news? Those would be your first clues.

[Jaycint]

I don't think he did steroids, I think he's starting to get older and has nothing left to prove. I think he wants to spend more time with his kids and his wife to be. All of those things, IMO, are the reasons why he is retiring.

I also think that after all he had to battle back from with the cancer, going through grueling chemotherapy and everything else involved, I think poisoning his body with steroids would be the last thing he would do.

[M2]

He might be the most tested athlete ever. I believe his old samples also have been kept in order to test them as new performance enhancers get discovered. So far he keeps coming up clean. No steroids, no HGH, no nothing.

[Jaycint]

If there was ever an athlete that I wouldn't question the integrity of it would be Lance Armstrong. Like M2 said, he's been tested more than just about any athlete on mother Earth and continuously comes up clean.