Armstrong to be fit for Tour de France - manager

Lance Armstrong will recover from a broken collarbone in time to bid for his eighth Tour de France crown in July, and may even compete in the Giro d'Italia in May, his team manager said Tuesday.

"A broken collarbone in March does not change anything as regards the Tour de France," which starts on July 4, said Johan Bruyneel, the manager of Armstrong's Astana team.

"For the moment, we are sticking largely with the same schedule. He was going to be leaving for the US after this race and then come back for the Giro, so for the moment nothing has changed," he told reporters before the start of the second stage of the Tour of Castilla y Leon in central Spain.

"Personally, I think it is still possible to take part in the Giro," which starts on May 9, but he is "still going to be less fit," said the Belgian.

Armstrong broke his collarbone when he fell along with several other riders about 20 kilometres (32 miles) from the finish line of the first stage of the Tour of Castilla y Leon on Monday.

A cancer survivor who went on to claim a record seven Tour de France crowns, Armstrong ended a three-and-a-half year retirement at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.

He declared his goal this year is to win an eighth Tour de France title.

His injury "changes the way we approach the season from now until the Tour de France," said Bruyneel. But "in terms of being there at start of the Tour, it changes nothing at all."

Armstrong meanwhile left for his home in Texas Tuesday.

"Sitting in the airport getting ready to fly home. Layover in NYC then ATX!" (Austin, Texas), he said on the social networking site Twitter.

He thanked "everyone here in Spain for all the help and support."