Lance in France with bicycle butterflies

When Lance Armstrong cycles down the Champs-Élysées on Sunday, 26 July, he'll have an unexpected fan: Damien Hirst. The British artist has created a design that will appear on the Texan's bike during the final stage of this year's Tour de France from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris.

On his Twitter feed, Armstrong wrote that he was "speechless" after seeing the design that Hirst, an award-winning artist known for his diamond skull and dead animals, "put his touches on". Armstrong usually rides a black-and-white Trek Madone bicycle with the logo of his Livestrong charity, but Hirst told Bloomberg that his bike artwork would feature butterflies, one of his signature motifs.

Lance Armstrong, 37, is seeking a record eighth Tour de France title after coming out of retirement. He survived testicular cancer before winning seven straight Tours between 1999 and 2005.