Cycling: Armstrong will lead team into battle

(REUTERS)

Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is joined by two former podium finishers in Team RadioShack's nine-man squad for next month's race.

Armstrong, whose most recent win was in 2005, has been selected as leader for Team RadioShack's debut in the Tour alongside Andreas Kloden of Germany – runner-up in 2004 and 2006 – and Levi Leipheimer of the United States, who was third in 2007.

Chris Horner is the third American in the team and lines up alongside this month's Dauphiné Libéré winner Jani Brajkovic of Slovenia, Sergio Paulinho of Portugal, Ukraine's Yaroslav Popovych, Grégory Rast of Switzerland and Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Muravyev.

Armstrong, who was second overall in the Tour de Suisse last week, is seeking an eighth Tour title after finishing behind winner Alberto Contador and runner-up Andy Schleck in 2009.

Meanwhile, Team Sky's Tour line-up was due to be finalised yesterday, with the eight riders to accompany Bradley Wiggins poised to be confirmed.

The 30-year-old Londoner, who was fourth in the 2009 Tour, is a certainty for the nine-man squad and is set to be joined by fellow Briton Steve Cummings.

Sky team principal Dave Brailsford yesterday said some selection decisions were still to be made. "Some of the team's been selected, there's the final couple of spots to be sorted out and then we'll have the full team."