Armstrong to end international career Down Under

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong will ride his last professional cycling race outside the United States in January's Tour Down Under in South Australia state, race organizers said today.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong will ride his last professional cycling race outside the United States in January's Tour Down Under in South Australia state, race organizers said on Sunday.

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Armstrong chose the 2009 edition of the ProTour race to make his comeback to cycling after a two-year retirement and debuted his own professional team, Team Radioshack, in this year's race. South Australian state Premier Mike Rann and race director Mike Turtur confirmed Armstrong's participation in the stage race which runs from Jan. 16-23.

Rann said the race would give cycling fans the chance to "be part of history as Lance competes in his farewell ride as a professional on international soil."

Armstrong, 39, is currently the focus of a federal investigation in the United States into doping in professional cycling.

The Tour Down Under is the first confirmed entry on his schedule for what will likely be his last competitive season. "I'm excited to be competing in my last professional ride outside the U.S. at the Santos Tour Down Under," Armstrong said in a statement. "It will be my third time to the event and I'm sure I will enjoy it as much as I have the first two times. "I will never forget the reception we received in Adelaide when we kicked off the Livestrong global campaign. I look forward to racing and also checking in on the progress in South Australia." Cancer survivor Armstrong chose the 2009

Tour Down Under to launch his Livestrong campaign to battle cancer worldwide.