Seven-times Tour de France [Images] winner Lance Armstrong [Images] is set to outline his plans for his return to competitive cycling on Wednesday, heralding a comeback that is certain to spark as much controversy as inspiration.

A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong said earlier this month that he was coming out of retirement to raise awareness about the disease that nearly took his life.

The American, who retired following his 2005 Tour triumph, will unveil his plans at a news conference (1600 GMT) at the Bill Clinton [Images] Presidential Center in New York City.

• Armstrong coming out of retirement

The 37-year-old Texan has been an outspoken advocate in the fight against cancer, raising funds and awareness of the disease through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Armstrong, however, has been dogged by accusations that he used drugs to help him win the Tour so many times after surviving cancer but he has never failed a drugs test.

Word that Armstrong was ending his three-year retirement was first leaked in an interview with Vanity Fair and was greeted with keen interest by his fellow competitors and cycling officials.

Armstrong's return could see him join the Astana team, which is run by his friend and former sporting director Johan Bruyneel, who helped the American win all his seven Tours.

Bruyneel has suggested that he would find it almost impossible not to include a fit-again Armstrong in his team.

"My relationship with him goes beyond the professional rider-director relationship," said Bruyneel. "I don't see myself running a team and having to race against him."

Kazakhstan's cycling chief said on Tuesday he was optimistic of signing former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to compete for Astana next season.

"He (Armstrong) is a great cyclist and he is also a great humanitarian and that makes him a perfect fit for our team," Kazakhstan Defence Minister Danial Akhmetov, who is also president of the country's cycling federation, told Reuters.