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Armstrong had planned to skip this year's race, but now that his former team has two riders among the top four, he was rethinking his plans.
"The team at the Tour is doing so much better than we thought. I may have to go to the final days in France," Armstrong said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Tomorrow is the last day in the Pyrenees, so we'll know more after tomorrow."
Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer have kept Armstrong's attention and the Discovery Channel team in the race. Contador, a Spaniard, was in second place behind Denmark's Michael Rasmussen, trailing by 2 minutes, 23 seconds, following Monday's 15th stage. Leipheimer, an American, was fourth overall.
Armstrong was in Humboldt, Iowa, participating in an amateur cycling event and was interviewed before the announcement Tuesday that Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a banned blood transfusion after winning last weekend's time trial, resulting in the withdrawal of his Astana team from the race.
Armstrong was unavailable to comment on the latest doping scandal, spokeswoman Jennifer Long said.
The seven-time Tour champion will monitor Discovery's progress through the Tour's challenging mountain stage Wednesday before deciding whether to make the trip.
"We knew we had a strong team, but I think as it sits right now, we have a very real chance to win the whole thing," said Armstrong, who is a part-owner of the team.
Armstrong said he's been "completely blown away" by the performance of Discovery Channel, particularly the 24-year-old Contador.
"He's really explosive in the climbs. He's really poised for a young guy," Armstrong said. "We're definitely pleasantly surprised."
On Monday, Armstrong also spoke to The Associated Press about the controversy surrounding Rasmussen, who was dropped from Denmark's national team last week for failing to tell anti-doping officials of his whereabouts for drug tests.
"It's 2007, everyone's accessible by cell phone, e-mail or Blackberry," Armstrong said in a telephone interview. "I declared where I was 365 days a year. Everybody has to play by the same rules."
Rasmussen received a warning on June 29 from the International Cycling Union because he missed random drug tests on May 8 and June 28. Anti-doping officials sought to contact Rasmussen but he had not informed them of his whereabouts. He said he was training in Mexico.
"It's a minor deal. I know that a lot of riders in the peloton receive warnings for not informing or not giving updated information to the UCI," Rasmussen said. "I'm just one out of many, and I just happen to ride with the yellow jersey right now."
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On Monday, cycling chief Pat McQuaid said "the last thing this sport needs is more speculation about doping," adding that the Danish rider has "broken no rules, so from that point of view ... you have to give him the benefit of the doubt."
Armstrong points out that despite all the speculation concerning Rasmussen, one fact stands out.
"In the current system, Rasmussen is not in violation," Armstrong said while watching Alexandre Vinokourov's stage 15 victory on television in Iowa. "The system in place is what it is. I'm not taking a position on it."
Armstrong paid tribute to Vinokourov, who rode most of the race with up to 30 stitches in both knees.
"Vino's a tough guy and he always has been," Armstrong said, speaking before the Kazakh rider's Tour ended Tuesday.
Armstrong is no stranger to the doping controversy surrounding cycling. Though he never tested positive and has vigorously denied all allegations, the Texan has come under fire in several books that allege he took performance enhancers.
Former teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy, have also come out against Armstrong, alleging he told doctors treating his cancer in 1996 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. None of the claims has ever been verified.
One thing is clear: Armstrong is impressed by Contador.
The Spaniard beat Rasmussen in a mountaintop sprint finish that resembled the way Armstrong beat Germany's Andreas Kloeden up to Le Grand Bornand in the French Alps three years ago.
Both had gone toe-to-toe in the hills all that afternoon, before Armstrong destroyed Kloeden in a sprint.
Contador couldn't shake Rasmussen in their battle, but Armstrong liked what he saw.
"I mean the similarity (between us) is the acceleration, his ability to accelerate," Armstrong said. "I think he was taking stock and looking at the other guys then the next thing you know he was pulling away."
However, Armstrong still feels Rasmussen -- who resisted three attacks from Contador in Monday's final climb up Peyresourde
-- is in a commanding position.
"He's time-trialed better than we thought," Armstrong said. "If they don't drop him, and he time trials like he did (on Saturday), he's going to win."
[Associated Press;
by Jerome Pugmire]
Associated Press writer Luke Meredith contributed to this story from Iowa.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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