Time Off From Tour Could Be Armstrong's Biggest Challenge

July 3, 2009 3:17 p.m. EST

Paris, France (AHN) - Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, back for the first time since 2005, will face a big challenge when he saddles up for the world's toughest cycling race.

Armstrong came out of retirement to bolster his cancer-fighting advocacy.

The cycling star, who turns 38 in September, will be attempting the near impossible task, an eighth Tour victory after three years away from pro cycling.

Resiliency and his powers of recovery could factor in when he negotiates this year's Tour, comprising of 21 stages beginning from Monaco to Paris Champs-Elysees, France.

This year's challenge has a distance of 3,500 kilometers (2,174.8 miles) and will have eight new stop-over towns.

In May, Armstrong started his arduous comeback when finished 12th in the Tour of Italy.

It was an impressive finish considering he sustained a broken collarbone during a crash six weeks before that tournament.

The Tour is July 4 through July 21.