updated 2:07 p.m. ET Aug. 16, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong says he’ll ride at least one more time in the Tour de France. But at 32, even he knows that retirement might not be far off.

So then what? The six-time winner of arguably the world’s most grueling sporting event will eventually have to find something else to stoke his competitive fires.

“I need to do something. Golf won’t do it,” Armstrong joked Friday night before a parade and concert in his honor.

“I’ve got some friends who ride,” he said, “but I don’t think they would want to be that punching bag.”

He might not have to leave racing. Armstrong said once he racks his bike for good, he’d like to keep his hands in the sport.

“It would make me very proud to be able to retire and stay involved in a program and continue to win the Tour with somebody else,” he said. “Use my experience and time on a bike to help another person.”

He suggested Ukrainian standout Yaroslav Popovych could be that rider. Popovych recently signed a three-year deal with Armstrong’s newly sponsored Discovery Channel team.

“We think he’s a rider of the future in the Tour de France,” Armstrong said. “We think it’s tough right now to find another American to win the Tour. We think we have strong Americans who can contend or win stages, but we need to find someone who can win the Tour. At 24 years old ... we think he’s that guy.”

Popovych has two top-five finishes in the Giro d’Italia (2003-2004).

Armstrong didn’t say if he will race the Tour de France in either of the next two years. For now, he is thinking about focusing on other races in 2005.

“I think I have another year or two in me. That’s not just a random number. It’s what I think that my body can stand,” he said.

Dressed in khaki pants and a black T-shirt emblazoned with his “Livestrong” motto, Armstrong rode a bicycle in the parade, leading a group of cancer survivors toward the concert stage.

Armstrong fought back from life-threatening testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain before he won his first Tour de France title in 1999.

Tens of thousands of people jammed downtown streets in Austin on Friday. Most in the crowd wore yellow, the signature color of the Tour de France leader. One popular T-shirt read “In Lance We Trust” on the front and “Texas 6, France 0” on the back.

Huge yellow banners that hung from streetside balconies or in store windows read “Welcome Home Lance!” and “You are invincible.” Giant speaker stands for the concert were hidden under drapes of bright gold.

Armstrong was presented with a Texas flag that flew over the state Capitol while he rode in France. The pink-granite building was bathed in yellow light when he addressed the crowd.

“This is the greatest hometown in the whole world,” Armstrong told the crowd. Raised in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Armstrong has lived in Austin about 15 years.

“I’m the happiest man here tonight because I’m home,” he said.

Rocker Steve Miller gave Armstrong a yellow guitar pick. Armstrong’s girlfriend, singer Sheryl Crow, danced with his children backstage during the concert.

Standing on the stage, Armstrong noted that he was just a few blocks from where he first announced that he had cancer.

“To think that I’m standing here as someone who made cycling history ... in 1996 I never would have thought that was possible,” he said.

Armstrong founded the Austin-based Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and survivor support programs. Many in the crowd wore the “Livestrong” wrist band sold this summer to raise money for the foundation.

Armstrong said they should wear the band year-round.

“The color yellow stands for hope and courage and inspiration and that’s why I’m never taking it off,” he said.

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