BEIJING, Feb. 4 -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Grammy-winning pop star Sheryl Crow have split up, after two years of dating and a four-month engagement.

    "After much thought and consideration we have made a very tough decision to split up," a joint statement by the high-profile couple issued to People magazine said. "We both have a deep love and respect for each other, and we ask that everyone respect our privacy during this difficult time."

Lance Armstrong & Sheryl Crow (Xinhua/AFP/File)

    There were rumors about their split from early January. The newly-released joint statement puts the gossip to rest.

    Crow met Armstrong at a cycling event in 2003 and the couple announced their engagement in last September. It would have been her first marriage and his second.

    Crow had recently posed for Allure magazine trying on a wedding dress and had told the publication that she and Armstrong planned to marry in his hometown of Austin.

    Crow, a Missouri native and former school teacher, scored a smash hit with "All I Wanna Do," a track from her 1993 debut album and has gone on to win nine Grammy awards.

    A cancer survivor, Armstrong has been a highly visible fund-raiser for victims and survivors of the disease. He has three children from a previous marriage.

(Agencies)

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