ADELAIDE, Australia (AFP) - Completing his first stage race in three-and-a-half years, Lance Armstrong showed on Sunday that he has the tools to build an authentic bid for an eighth Tour de France crown.

Armstrong, 37, finished the Tour Down Under in 29th place overall, 49 seconds behind Australian winner Allan Davis, officially finishing his first stage race since retiring after his record seventh Tour de France triumph in 2005.
Admitting he still has plenty of work to do before tackling the Giro d'Italia in May/June, and the Tour a month later, he said that finishing the race had boosted his confidence.
“It's given me reassurance that I can still race at highest level. The body deteriorates, it gets older,” said Armstrong after the sixth and final stage of the race here.
“The most important thing is it tells me I've been training hard. If you put in the miles and hours, it's a good indication of what I've done so far.
“I've still to fine-tune things, get lighter, fitter, work on certain aspects of conditioning.”
Armstrong has officially returned to the sport in a bid to spread global awareness about cancer.
While in Australia, the American, who battled the disease before he launched his seven-year domination of the Tour de France, has campaigned, met with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and has come away with pledges that more will be done to help eradicate the disease.
Yet the success of his comeback will likely be judged by his performances on the bike.
In February he will crank up his preparations for the summer when he races at the Tour of California, in support of Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer, the defending champion.
Armstrong said the US race will give him a good chance to test his time trialling.
“Personally, it's good for me to try time trials but otherwise I'm content to work as domestique (helper) for the team,” he added.
“The time trial in California will be 30-plus minutes. The prologue (a short time trial) will be intense. We'll have to see.
“It's healthier for me mentally to go in as domestique and not put too much pressure on myself.”
Armstrong's goal here was to see if he could return smoothly to the professional peloton.
During the final stage he launched a brief attack but admitted he was unable to keep it going.
“I felt pretty good today so I thought I'd give it a go, I just didn't have the firepower to keep it going,” said Armstrong.
“That's the best I've felt all week -- when you feel good and have good legs you go for it.”-