Mixed response to Lance's news
11/09/2008 6:38 AM
and even more so after having won seven Tours, but if he sees himself as fit and hasn't lost his form then he will be welcomed back."
Former French rider and a former rival of Armstrong, Christophe Bassons, also expressed his confusion over the news.
Should Armstrong appear in Astana colours, it will increase pressure on the Tour de France organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation, to accept the team for the 2009 race.
Astana was not invited to compete in the 2008 Tour following a series of doping scandals in 2007.
Bassons said: "It's sad. It saddens and even scares me a bit. I don't understand it.
"Lance Armstrong's comeback to cycling saddens me. If he decides to come back to competition then he had better be sure he can win his eighth Tour de France.
"Furthermore, if he races with Astana, I think that'll be just another way to mock the competition of cycling. This return will not make him any bigger."
Bassons' compatriot Bernard Hinault, however, was among the former riders to back the decision, citing 49-year-old female cyclist Jeannie Longo as reason to believe Armstrong can compete.
He said : "Jeannie Longo is still there and she's getting on for 50, so Lance Armstrong still has plenty of time ahead of him."