Earlier this evening Lance Armstrong himself and Lance Armstrong Foundation President Doug Ulman both announced that Armstrong intends to return to pro cycling in 2009.

In a video statement on the Livestrong blog Web site the 7 time Tour de France winner told viewers about his decision to return to pro cycling and his reason for doing so.

"Hey everybody. I know there's been a lot of reports in the media today about a possible return to racing. I just wanna let you know that after long talks with my kids, the rest of my family, a close group of friends I have decided to return to professional cycling in 2009. The reason for this is to launch an international cancer strategy, based on the fact that we lose 8 million people around the world to this disease - more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined - I will announce the entire initiative, as well as the other plans for the comeback on September the 24th at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. So until then, take care and live strong," said Armstrong.

In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair posted on its Web site, Armstrong told readers that riding the Leadville 100 mile mountain bike race through the Rocky Mountains last month had a major effect on him. "This kind of obscure bike race totally kick-started my engine ... I'm going to try and win an eighth Tour de France."

Armstrong will announce his new team and schedule at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on September 24.

We speculate that Lance Armstrong will not join Team Astana but Team Cervelo TestTeam and that the team will bring on a major sponsor from the pharmaceutical industry - a pharmaceutical company developing cancer treatment pharmaceuticals, such as Amgen. His strong link with Johan Bruyneel, however, may lead Armstrong to choose Team Astana instead.

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