 Armstrong is bidding for a seventh Tour de France win in 2005 |
Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has withdrawn from the Paris-Nice cycling race because of a sore throat. Armstrong, who was using the race as a warm-up for this year's Tour de France, was in 62nd place after three stages.
"I had finally adjusted to the jet lag of the trip but woke up this morning with a sore throat that seemed to get worse all day," said Armstrong.
"I'll return to Spain to rest up and be back on the bike in a couple of days."
Johan Bruyneel, the sports manager of the Discovery team, said: "Lance woke up with a sore throat and, with the cold weather, he began to feel worse throughout the day.
"When we returned to the hotel, he began to show signs of a fever and appeared to be getting worse so we decided he should return to Spain immediately."
The 33-year-old's next scheduled race is at the Tour of Flanders on 3 April.