Lance Armstrong says recent allegations that he doped during his career from former teammate Floyd Landis won't distract him from his goal to win a record eighth Tour de France. "It will be the opposite. It's going to inspire me," he said. Good old Lance is back!

Heading into his last Tour de France, Lance Armstrong says recent allegations that he doped during his career from former teammate Floyd Landis won't distract him from his goal to win a record eighth Tour.

The 38-year-old Armstrong said on Thursday he was in a better shape than last year, when he capped his return to competition with a third-place finish in the showcase event following a 3-½ year retirement.

Armstrong said he won't let any accusation from Landis "deter me. In fact, in the end, it will be the opposite. It's going to inspire me."

Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, recently claimed in e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors that Armstrong tested positive for EPO at the Tour de Suisse in 2002 and paid off former International Cycling Union boss Hein Verbruggen to keep it quiet. Armstrong won the 2001 Swiss race, but did not compete there in 2002.

Landis also alleged that Armstrong taught other riders to cheat.

"I don't want to get into it. It's not worth it," Armstrong said about Landis' accusations.

"I did my first Tour in 1993 and now it's 2010. And I won a stage in 1993 as a 20-year-old. I've been at the front of my sport since the day I showed up. And in the process, there have been a ton of questions and a ton of scrutiny and a lot of controls and a lot of investigations. And I'm still here. I don't see any other example in cycling or in any other sports."

Armstrong and Landis rode together for three years with the U.S. Postal team. Landis left in 2005 to join Phonak.

"I understand that media love the sensationalist stories and they love the salacious and the ones that include accusations, that include all the blood and sex and drugs," Armstrong said in a 45-minute interview before his team RadioShack's official presentation.

"They love that. But at the end of the day, I think my career speaks for itself."

The Tour starts on Saturday in the Dutch port of Rotterdam with an 8.9-kilometer prologue. Armstrong confirmed it will be his last Tour and said he was likely to ride only races related to his anti-cancer charity foundation next year.

Landis' allegations have reportedly drawn the attention of U.S. Food and Drug Administration agent Jeff Novitzky, the lead investigator in the BALCO doping case.

Armstrong said Novitzky had not contacted him or his lawyers and denied reports alleging his former wife Kristin decided to cooperate with him, saying she and the cancer survivor have "a very strong relationship."

"I'm not sure he would call me," Armstrong said of Novitzky. "We haven't heard."

Armstrong added he decided that this Tour would be his last because he was tired of being constantly away from his family.

"It's just a family decision," Armstrong said. "Like I told the people that asked about it - at RadioShack, friends - that came from pressure from my kids. I'm away all the time. Not all the time, but enough time. Even at these moments, I don't need to miss them anymore."

Armstrong has already four kids, and his girlfriend Anna Hansen is expecting his fifth child.

Armstrong's season has been hampered by bouts of illness and a crash at the Tour of California but he believes in his chances to derail overwhelming favorite Alberto Contador's ambition to win the showcase race for a third time.

"I'm at the top of the form that I can have now," Armstrong said. "At my age and with the setbacks we had in the spring."

Armstrong hurt his elbow and got cut under his left eye in the May 20 crash in California. The former world champion, who broke his collarbone last year in his first comeback season, was forced to withdraw from Milan-San Remo in March, citing gastroenteritis, and pulled out from the Circuit de la Sarthe with a stomach illness.

"Athletically, professionally, I feel good," Armstrong said. "Better than last year. More motivated than last year. So from a sportsman's perspective, I would like to go out as a winner. That's not easy to do with the good field we have here."

When riding together within the Astana team last year, Armstrong and Contador had a tense relationship that quickly turned into an open war of words. But Armstrong said his team's goal this year was not to "destroy anybody's race."

Still, he appeared to try and get inside Contador's head.

"I still think that there is potentially team issues inside Astana," Armstrong said. "It's no secret. How does that affect the composition of the team, the tactics of the team? Those are the x-factors that normally shouldn't but sometimes do."

Contador will have a very strong Astana team this year that includes Alexandre Vinokourov, who is coming back to the Tour after serving a two-year ban for blood doping. Among Armstrong's other rivals are Frank and Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Ivan Basso.