ADELAIDE: Lance Armstrong will launch a second attempt at an age-defying Tour de France comeback win when he headlines next week's Tour Down Under, the curtain-raiser for the new cycling season.

Armstrong is playing down his chances in the sprint-heavy South Australia race, despite a gruelling pre-season of six-hour road sessions in Hawaii coupled with extended yoga training.

But the 38-year-old American says he is in far better condition than last year, when he ended a three-and-a-half year "retirement" here and finished 29th, later placing a creditable third in France.

And he admits coveting a spectacular new chapter in his fairytale career, which includes surviving testicular cancer to win a record seven Tour de France titles in consecutive years from 1999 to 2005.

"For us as athletes, (the Tour de France is) the most important race of the year. For me, as an individual athlete, it's the one I know and love the most," he said.

"I know what it's like to win the Tour, I know what it takes to win the Tour. I've got seven of them but I'd like to have an eighth."

Armstrong will lead the all-new Team RadioShack in Adelaide after dumping Astana, where he cultivated a fabled rivalry with Spain's reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador.

He will be in the sights of several big names including Australia's Cadel Evans, who is ending a four-year absence from his country's signature race in hopes of avenging two runner-up Tour de France finishes to the American.

Evans will race in a rainbow jersey after winning the coveted road race at September's cycling world championships in Switzerland, the first Australian to do so.

"It's a privilege to be able to present my new jersey and my new BMC Racing Team to the Australian public and the rest of the world," he said.

Last year's winner, Australia's Allan Davis, heads Astana along with 2006 Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro, while sprint specialist Robbie McEwen is also considered a serious contender.

Armstrong will be keeping a close eye on Spain's Alejandro Valverde, who is in strong form despite the distractions of his appeal against a two-year doping ban.

Valverde is already serving a two-year suspension in Italy over alleged links to the Operation Puerto scandal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is currently considering his appeal against a worldwide ban.

"From what I've heard, I think Valverde is riding very good, he's also fast and he can be a factor on some of the ... tough stages," Armstrong said.

"Yeah, I see him being a factor here."

Meanwhile, the newly created Team Sky may spring a surprise as they pursue their ambitious campaign to produce a British Tour de France winner.

The six-stage Tour Down Under, which finishes on Sunday, January 24, is the first leg of this year's 16-stop UCI Protour, featuring 17 teams.