Italia

PARIS — Lance Armstrong considers the 2010 Tour de France course "tough" because of the cobblestones sections and three punishing summit finishes in the Pyrenees.

The seven-time Tour champion attended the unveiling of the route and had lunch with French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday.

He also said more cyclists will have a chance to win thanks to the elimination of the team time trial.

"I think it will be much more open than last year because the TTT really eliminated some people last year and you won't have that again," Armstrong said. "Whereas this year you had three or four guys who could win the Tour, this year you'll go into the tough sections with 10 guys."

Armstrong finished third at this year's Tour after an intense rivalry with Astana teammate Alberto Contador, the eventual winner.

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