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The knee injury that forced Lance Armstrong to withdraw from the Rotorua Sprint Triathlon in New Zealand, set to be held later this month, could also keep him from competing in a 2011 Ironman.
The cycling legend, in Australia for his third successive Santos Tour Down Under, has admitted he is now unsure whether he will be able to race the Hawaii Ironman triathlon on the Big Island in October.
Armstrong, who completed his lead-up work to the Tour Down Under in Hawaii this month, said he wanted to contest the endurance race but was not sure whether his knee could cope with the work required to bring his run up to speed for the Ironman.
The running-related injury, which involves cartilage damage, has already forced him to cancel plans to contest a small sprint-distance triathlon in New Zealand after the Tour Down Under.
“If you are going to do a race of that length, and a run of that length, obviously you have to stay healthy,” Armstrong said in Adelaide.
“You can’t train for a marathon or an Ironman with a bung knee. So I have to figure a way to either rehab it or get it worked on.
“I have to figure out if I can do the training for the run. To be honest it feels better, which is a good thing, but it is one of these things where you put too much load on it.”