Armstrong welcomes Landis return

Landis and Armstrong making nice for the Tour of California.. Click here for the article

....Armstrong said Italian Ivan Basso, the biggest name in the peloton to be snared by the Operation Puerto drugs scandal, should also be given a second chance.

"There's no point in criticising Basso or Landis - they've paid their penalty... that's normally the way society works and let's forgive and forget and get back on down the road," he said.

Landis and Armstrong are likely to face each other at the Tour of California on February 14-22, and the former said he is excited about Armstrong's comeback.

"His comeback is good for the sport," Landis said, adding that he had been watching Armstrong's progress in the Tour Down Under in Australia.....

"You know, he's just one of 200 other cyclists there, but I'm getting an idea of his condition by how he's doing in the Australian race."

Armstrong added: "I think it's good that the strongest riders in the world are in the best races in the world.

"Floyd is a friend of mine, he's a former team-mate and he has a lot of fans.

"I've heard that he's riding well. From a sporting perspective he'll be strong there (California)."