Speculation has been rife for a number of months that Lance Armstrong would ride the Tour of Ireland this year and it has finally been confirmed that he will indeed line up on August 19th for the grand depart.

Armstrong announced on twitter (the social network service see http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong) that he will ride the race immediately before his foundations Global Cancer summit to be held in Dublin.  This is fantastic news for the fledgling race now in its third year since its return to the calendar in 2007, which while it has featured World class fields has not attracted much domestic attention.  Doubtless other members of the Astana squad will line out with Armstrong including potentially Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, Andreas Kloden and possibly Alberto Contador.

We hope to see you all track side for what is expected to be a fantastic spectacle and race and rest assured we will be doing our best to bring you the best interviews and insider info from the race itself.

The Tour of Ireland takes place from August 19th to the 23rd and will be followed by the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit August 24th-26th.

The primary purpose of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit is to bring together world leaders to secure commitments to make cancer a global priority. The secondary purpose is to build a global grassroots advocacy movement to influence global action in the fight against cancer. Participation in the Summit is by invitation only with interest already expressed from the likes of Bill Clinton and Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. LAF has outlined a commitment process that all world leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations and corporations are required to complete to be eligible for invitation. For information about the commitment process, visit www.livestrong.org.