Lance Armstrong and girlfriend Anna Hansen are expecting their first child together in June, as the cycling champion has recently revealed.

Armstrong released a statement confirming that he and his girlfriend were to become parents the summer of 2009, adding that they were both thrilled by the news and looking forward to seeing what the new year had in store for them on all accounts.

Lance Armstrong, 37, won seven Tour de France races after he struggled with testicular cancer, having announced in September that he would be returning to professional cycling and also competing in the Tour de France the following year.

The cyclist has three children with his ex-wife Kristin, Luke, 9, and twins Isabella and Grace, 7, all conceived via in vitro fertilization with sperm Armstrong chose to freeze before he underwent the chemotherapy treatment for his cancer condition.

He and Kristin divorced in 2003.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years, from 1999 to 2005, which makes him the only one to have achieved such a performance, having broken previous records of five wins, held by Miguel Indurain and Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.

In 1996, his testicular cancer metastasized to his brain and lungs, but even though his chances of survival had been deemed as really low at that time, he managed to fight off the deadly disease.