Armstrong all set to ride in Sydney

Sydney: Double Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is set to ride at the Sydney Olympics after recovering from injuries he suffered in a heavy training fall.

"Lance is planning on being here, planning on racing and planning on winning," United States cycling team manager Sean Petty said Tuesday.

Petty told a press conference that Armstrong was still a little sore but had assured team officials he planned to challenge for two gold medals in Sydney.

The rider is recuperating in the south of France after fracturing a C7 vertebra -- between his neck and shoulder blade -- two weeks ago and suffering severe bruising.

"I'm cautiously optimistic about my chances in Sydney, but my biggest concern is that flight to Australia -- 24 hours," Armstrong said on his website.

"My neck is still fairly tight, especially in the night and the morning, and it seems to have affected other areas around the C7 as well, like the shoulder and the right arm, but I've been able to train effectively through it."

"The bottom line is that it's getting better every day. Aside from the neck injury, my legs feel very good."

Armstrong, 28, will make a definite decision on whether to race in Sydney after Saturday's Grand Prix des Nations time trial in Normandy.

If fully fit, he would be one of the favourites for the September 27 road race and the September 30 time trial.

He fell on August 28 after a head-on collision with a car during a training ride on mountain roads above the French Riviera.

His US Postal teammate Chris Vande Velde, a member of the US track cycling team in Sydney, believes Armstrong is strong enough to bounce back with a gold medal.

"Lance comes back from cancer and kicks my butt, so he can come back and win here," said Vande Velde.

(c) Reuters Limited.