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Armstrong skipping San Francisco's T-Mobile International

Published: Sep. 10, 2004

Six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has pulled out of Sunday’s 108-mile T-Mobile International in San Francisco, citing tendinitis in his right knee.

Armstrong, who has finished the San Francisco race just once in four attempts, in 2002, thought it best to give his injury a rest and sit out this year’s race in hopes of coming back strong in 2005.

The U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor captain said his injury “started acting up toward the end of the Tour, and I didn’t talk about it – obviously not the wisest thing to do when your rivals are still looking at you – but it never got better.”

“This is not a race where you can fake it,” Armstrong added. “There’s no hiding in this race. This is one of the hardest races on the calendar, so I’m going to have to sit back and hope that the team we brought here, which I think is the strongest team in the race, can win.”

“I’m still a professional rider, and I intend to be one next year, so I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

With Armstrong out, this year’s U.S. Postal team will consist of Viatcheslav Ekimov, Jose Luis Rubiera, Pavel Padrnos, Benjamin Noval, Mike Creed, Jose Azevedo and 2001 San Francisco champion George Hincapie.

The 31-year-old Hincapie says he’s been putting in the miles in preparation for the upcoming world road championships in October.

“After the Tour I was pretty dead,” Hincapie said in a phone conversation last week. “I’ve been feeling a bit better since I’ve been back in the States. I hope to have better legs in San Francisco, because you need good legs."

The T-Mobile International, presented by BMC Software, begins at 7 a.m. on Sunday with a 56-mile women’s race. The 108-mile men’s race rolls out at 10 a.m.