LANCE ARMSTRONG - ARMSTRONG TO RETURN TO TOUR DE FRANCE - AND RUN MARATHON

Champion cyclist LANCE ARMSTRONG has announced he plans to make a seventh attempt at winning the TOUR DE FRANCE - and he'll be running the New York Marathon beforehand.

Armstrong, boyfriend of sexy singer SHERYL CROW and a cancer survivor, won his record sixth Tour De France in July (04), and had since left fans guessing as to whether or not he had plans to compete in the race again.

And when he appeared on comedian JAY LENO's chat show in Los Angeles last night (01SEP04), Armstrong decided he'd make one or two announcements to put everybody's minds at ease.

He said of his Tour De France plans, "I'm still trying to decide between 2005 and 2006, but I still love the Tour. It's still the race that I wake up thinking about and so I'll absolutely be back."

He added, "I'm still considering whether or not to run the New York City marathon. The problem is, it's in two months, so I have to start running!

"The muscle groups (for running) are totally different (to those used for cycling) and it would be hard for me. I would obviously not run very fast but I... will copy the P DIDDY program a little bit to try to raise some money for cancer."