The Tour of France never lets go of the once all-powerful and later fallen ruler of the Tour de France. Armstrong is on air for around 45 minutes every day. Not on location in France, of course, where they have long since demonised him and declared him an undesirable person. No, the Texan, who has been banned for life, is in the studio in Aspen/Colorado, where he shoots the Tour podcast "The Move" every day together with guests such as his once loyal noble assistant George Hincapie.
And the Texan still has a large number of followers. Up to 75,000 cycling fans are tuning in every day on YouTube alone, which has "really shocked" Armstrong. The programme has shot up to number one on the list of sports-related podcasts. Where there's Armstrong, there's up. It was like that before.
It is now exactly 20 years since Armstrong took the reigns - his critics would rather call it a reign of terror - at the Tour. What began as a miraculous story of a cured cancer patient ultimately turned out to be the darkest chapter in cycling. Armstrong's seven Tour victories from 1999 to 2005 have long since been erased from the history books of the Tour because the 47-year-old cheated like no other. EPO, blood doping, growth hormones - Armstrong set standards, and not just in sport.
The former industry star has no major regrets. "We did what we had to do to win. It wasn't legal, it probably wasn't the best decision, but we wouldn't have won otherwise. I wouldn't do anything differently, I've said that three times, I wouldn't do one thing differently," Armstrong said in an interview with the TV channel NBC Sports. The channel even had the former Ullrich rival on as an expert during the Tour. A re-socialisation measure from home?
It will probably not come to that. In any case, the broadcaster was heavily criticised, so much so that a spokesperson immediately announced that Armstrong had not received any money for his appearance. The organisers or the UCI cannot prevent such appearances. According to the UCI, there was no offence against Armstrong's lifetime ban.
As in the past two years, Armstrong will continue to make his opinion known - from the studio in Aspen. "It's a simple thing. We talk about things that we probably know more about than others. The hardest part of the day is getting up in the morning," Armstrong told the Aspen Times.
"The Boss", as he used to be called, analyses the Tour stages with razor-sharp precision. In passing, viewers learn that Armstrong has just received a picture of Ullrich. "He's fine, he's healthy," says the former US Postal captain, who visited and supported Ullrich during his difficult time last year.
Ullrich is a "gentleman", adds Armstrong, recalling his last Tour victory. Ullrich came to his victory celebration in Paris. "And he spoke. Our English is already bad, but ...", jokes Armstrong with Hincapie and briefly turns back time. Just like in 1999, when his era at the Tour began and he was still marvelled at by the French.
