7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong says he’s ready for secondary role this time

AP Interview: Armstrong set for Tour support role

PARIS — Lance Armstrong says he’s capable of winning an eighth Tour de France but is ready, if necessary, to put his ambitions on hold for teammate and rival Alberto Contador.

Contador and Armstrong will ride for the Astana team at the three-week race that starts Saturday.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Armstrong says he’s willing to work as a support rider for Contador if the Spaniard proves likelier to win.

Armstrong says he would do so out of respect for Contador, Astana and cycling tradition and that “I would do it with pleasure.”

In the telephone interview, Armstrong says he isn’t sure he can win he Tour again at age 37 but that people would be wrong to underestimate him.