Seven Tour d'france champion Lance Amstrong believes there is a "high" probability he will start a professional team of his own for the 2010 season.
The American expects the announcement to come this July, after he races the Tour de France.
"I would like to have my own team: to be the owner, director and... cyclist. Because if I have a team I also want to race. It does not necessarily have to be the Giro and Tour, but only when I have the desire," he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport after the Tour of the Gila stage race in the USA.
Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, announced his comeback to the sport last fall. He joined his former team manger Johan Bruyneel at team Astana and announced his support of an Under 23 development team.
"The name? That of the principal sponsor. Its probability? High. You will know it in July. Even if it is hard to convince sponsors to give money with the economic crisis and news of doping," he added.
Armstrong travelled from the US and arrived in Rome this morning. Tomorrow, he will meet with Italy's Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, to present his cancer foundation's programme.
From Rome Armstrong travels to Venice for the Centenary Giro d'Italia, May 9 to 31. He will lead the team with USA's Levi Leipheimer, winner of Tour of the Gila and Castilla y León.
Lance Armstrong Own Team
Giro d'italia Race stage 7 Result - Chiavenna, 244km
Giro d'italia Race stage 7 Result
STAGE 7 RESULTS
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor|Team Columbia - Highroad) 5:56:53
2 Robert Hunter (RSA|Barloworld)
3 Pavel Brutt (Rus|Team Katusha)
4 Davide Viganò (Ita|Fuji-Servetto)
5 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita|Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli)
6 Andriy Grivko (Ukr|ISD) 0:00:31
7 Matthew Goss (Aus|Team Saxo Bank) 0:00:40
8 Allan Davis (Aus|Quick Step)
9 Robert Forster (Ger|Team Milram)
10 Ben Swift (GBr|Team Katusha)
Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway, riding for Columbia-Highroad, won the seventh stage of the Tour of Italy on Friday at Chiavenna, with LPR's Danilo Di Luca retaining the leader's pink jersey.
Hagen emerged the winner from a five-man late escape over the final 20 kilometres launched coming off the Passo Maloja climb to win the 244km rain-hit stage from Innsbruck as the race came back over the border from Austria.
The win, his first in Italy, was an early birthday present for the Norwegian, who turns 22 on Sunday.
South African Robert Hunter came in second ahead of Russian Pavel Brutt with Italians Davide Viganò and Alessandro Bertolini completing the top five on the day.
Already the winner of the Ghent-Wevelgem Classic this spring at the age of just 21, Hagen said: "Both victories, in Belgium and here in Italy, are very important and you can't really compare them.
"I'm just really happy to be winning. I had great support from the team because I knew they were blocking behind when the break went clear. I didn't start the final sprint too early, I tried waiting for as long as possible for the other guys to go. But I felt strong and it worked out well. It was dangerous on that last descent in the rain. I was lucky that I didn't crash," he added.
Bertolini had made a break going into the final handful of kilometres and established a one-minute lead on the nerve-wracking descent towards Chiavenna - but he was reined in before Hagen just stole it ahead of Brutt.
Four riders made an early move just outside Innsbruck as Mauro Facci, Bartosz Huzarski, Serguei Klimov and Vladimir Isaichev raced nine minutes clear by the 24km mark and they held on until the final climb as the rain made the conditions increasingly slippery.
Bertolini tried in vain to anticipate the sprint as Brutt and jockeyed for supremacy over the final dozen kilometres and made for the line.
Winner of last month's Ghent-Wevelgem race, Hagen scored his first Giro stage success just 24 hours after he placed second behind Michele Scarponi in the sixth stage to Mayrhofen im Zillertal.
Saturday's eighth stage is a 209 kilometre affair from Morbegno to Bergamo.
Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong's Astana team admitted on Friday they have been forced into desperate measures in a bid to publicise a never-ending financial dispute with their key sponsors.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong and his Astana teammates started the Tour of Italy's seventh stage with new shirts and the name of key sponsor, Astana, virtually blocked out.
Currently one of the most successful teams in the peloton, Astana face an uncertain future following reports their Kazakh sponsors have failed to pay team wages several times this year.
On Friday, Armstrong finished 58 seconds behind Hagen and now stands 25th overall, 4 minutes, 31 seconds off the lead.
Hagen emerged the winner from a five-man late escape over the final 20 kilometres launched coming off the Passo Maloja climb to win the 244km rain-hit stage from Innsbruck as the race came back over the border from Austria.
The win, his first in Italy, was an early birthday present for the Norwegian, who turns 22 on Sunday.
South African Robert Hunter came in second ahead of Russian Pavel Brutt with Italians Davide Viganò and Alessandro Bertolini completing the top five on the day.
Already the winner of the Ghent-Wevelgem Classic this spring at the age of just 21, Hagen said: "Both victories, in Belgium and here in Italy, are very important and you can't really compare them.
"I'm just really happy to be winning. I had great support from the team because I knew they were blocking behind when the break went clear. I didn't start the final sprint too early, I tried waiting for as long as possible for the other guys to go. But I felt strong and it worked out well. It was dangerous on that last descent in the rain. I was lucky that I didn't crash," he added.
Bertolini had made a break going into the final handful of kilometres and established a one-minute lead on the nerve-wracking descent towards Chiavenna - but he was reined in before Hagen just stole it ahead of Brutt.
Four riders made an early move just outside Innsbruck as Mauro Facci, Bartosz Huzarski, Serguei Klimov and Vladimir Isaichev raced nine minutes clear by the 24km mark and they held on until the final climb as the rain made the conditions increasingly slippery.
Bertolini tried in vain to anticipate the sprint as Brutt and jockeyed for supremacy over the final dozen kilometres and made for the line.
Winner of last month's Ghent-Wevelgem race, Hagen scored his first Giro stage success just 24 hours after he placed second behind Michele Scarponi in the sixth stage to Mayrhofen im Zillertal.
Saturday's eighth stage is a 209 kilometre affair from Morbegno to Bergamo.
Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong's Astana team admitted on Friday they have been forced into desperate measures in a bid to publicise a never-ending financial dispute with their key sponsors.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong and his Astana teammates started the Tour of Italy's seventh stage with new shirts and the name of key sponsor, Astana, virtually blocked out.
Currently one of the most successful teams in the peloton, Astana face an uncertain future following reports their Kazakh sponsors have failed to pay team wages several times this year.
On Friday, Armstrong finished 58 seconds behind Hagen and now stands 25th overall, 4 minutes, 31 seconds off the lead.
General classification after stage 6
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita|LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini) 28:08:48
2 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:05
3 Michael Rogers (Aus|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:36
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA|Astana) 0:00:43
5 Denis Menchov (Rus|Rabobank) 0:00:50
6 Ivan Basso (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:06
7 Carlos Sastre (Spa|Cervelo Test Team) 0:01:16
8 Christopher Horner (USA|Astana) 0:01:17
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:27
10 David Arroyo (Spa|Caisse d'Epargne) 0:01:41
ref[BR]
Read More..
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita|LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini) 28:08:48
2 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:05
3 Michael Rogers (Aus|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:36
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA|Astana) 0:00:43
5 Denis Menchov (Rus|Rabobank) 0:00:50
6 Ivan Basso (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:06
7 Carlos Sastre (Spa|Cervelo Test Team) 0:01:16
8 Christopher Horner (USA|Astana) 0:01:17
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:27
10 David Arroyo (Spa|Caisse d'Epargne) 0:01:41
ref[BR]
Giro d'Italia stage 7 Detail
Giro d'Italia stage 7 detail
Chiavenna, 244km
Route: The race heads south-west, back into Italy via Switzerland. Although we're surrounded by high peaks all the way, passing the upmarket resort of St Moritz, the stage is one very steady climb to the summit of the Maloja pass, followed by a high-speed descent into the finish. A sprint is not out of the question, but a winning break more likely.
ref[Cyclingnews]