Armstrong returns to action in Murcia

Lance Armstrong will return to racing this week, taking on the Vuelta Ciclista a la Regiona de Murcia. The race through southeastern Spain runs Wednesday, March 3 through Sunday, March 7.

Armstrong, now riding for Team RadioShack, has not raced since the Tour Down Under in January. Since then he has been training in the United States and France. He last rode the Murcia race in 2004, finishing 23rd overall.

The seven-time Tour de France winner leads a strong team in Spain, including two-time Tour de France runner-up Andreas Klöden.

Team Astana has also announced its squad for Murcia, featuring five Kazakh riders. The other two riders are veterans Josep Jufre of Spain and Italian Paolo Tiralongo.

RadioShack for Vuelta a Murcia: Lance Armstrong, Daryl Impey, Andreas Klöden, Jason McCartney, Gregory Rast, Jose Luis Rubiera and Haimar Zubeldia

Team Astana for Vuelta a Murcia: Alexandr Dyachenko, Valentin Iglinsky, Josep Jufre, Roman Kireyev, Bolat Raimbekov, Paolo Tiralongo and Andrey Zeits