Armstrong wants to enjoy himself

Lance Armstrong sets off one last time on Saturday on the three-week journey that has made him a cycling great and if he does not expect a leisurely ride, he still hopes to enjoy his final Tour de France.

"I'm relaxed. I was nervous last year because I had the impression I was up against, not a demon, but against a hundred years in which some of the greats of cycling had not been able to win a sixth Tour and people tended to think it was not possible.

"It's a great burden to get rid of. I'm not chasing a legacy. I'm here to have a good time and enjoy my last Tour," the American told a media conference on Thursday.

The record six-times Tour champion knows he is bound to feel some nostalgia when the race hits Paris on July 24.

"I'm fully aware it's my last and I'm doing a pretty good job of still trying to win the event and cherish the last moments.

"There are moments I'm going to miss, the key intimate moments with the team which I'll never share again. Certain dinners along the way with guys that have become my best friends.

"I'll always miss those moments. I'll be coming back to this race and I'll be sitting at the same table but with the old guys," he said.

But looking in the rear-view mirror will not help the 32-year-old Texan win a seventh Tour.

"Every day I realise this is the last. Today I realised for example it was the last time previewing the prologue. Every finish will be special but I can't let that feeling and my emotions interfere with what I'm trying to do.

"For me, it's not a promenade around France."

STILL MOTIVATED

Unbeaten since his first victory in 1999, when he returned to the Tour from testicular cancer, Armstrong now has to look ahead rather than back.

"The older you get the higher are the risks that you lose. Time is not on my side but having said that, I feel strong and motivated and I can't complain too much about what my birth certificate says," he said.

The three weeks, 20 stages and 3,608 kms to come will, as usual, imply their share of hard times and effort, but the Discovery Channel team leader insists the motivation, though different from the past, is still there.

"It's different because I know it's my last one. But my motivation is that I still love what I do, I still cherish every day on the bike. I'll miss it. Discovery Channel took a serious commitment on me and on the team. I think they deserve the Tour and the yellow jersey because they're committed to it long term.

"There are lots of other people I want to win for. I would like to win in front of my kids," said the American, whose children did not come to the race the last two years.

Unable to pin down one stage or one day as the deciding one this year, Armstrong, who tackles his last Tour without a victory behind him this season, said he especially feared the first days in the mountains.

Citing the stages to Courchevel and Briancon in the Alps, he said: "I'm nervous about the opening stages in the mountains, because you're insecure about your form and your condition. Those will be critical."