Lance Armstrong 2009 Tour De France Issued Trek Madone Bicycle

This bike was gifted by Lance Armstrong to Ben Coates, Team Liaison for Team Astana at the 2009 Tour de France.

In the world of sports, few athletes have captured the imagination and stirred controversy quite like Lance Armstrong. Once one of the most revered sportsmen of all time after overcoming testicular cancer and winning a record seven Tour de France titles, history now views his storied run in a different light. After years of doping allegations, Lance Armstrong acquiesced in 2013 and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs throughout most of his career.

When Armstrong returned to the Tour de France with Team Astana after a four-year hiatus in 2009, his relationship with teammate Alberto Contador, the de facto leader of the team and previous Tour winner, dominated headlines as much as his quest for another title at the age of 37. Their relationship oscillated between camaraderie and rivalry, leading to speculation about internal team politics and strategic decisions.

Ultimately, Alberto Contador emerged as the winner of the 2009 Tour de France, securing the coveted yellow jersey. The podium celebrations, however, couldn't mask the underlying tensions within Team Astana. The Armstrong-Contador rivalry, coupled with Armstrong's then-remarkable comeback (finishing third), fueled discussions and debates within the cycling community and beyond.

In 2012, Lance Armstrong had all his racing results after 1998, including the 2009 Tour, voided by the Union Cycliste Internationale following the United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation.

The bike has been photomatched by MeiGray to an image at the 2009 Tour de France but Lance Armstrong wasn’t on the bike. Given that this was placed with Team Astana at the Tour de France, and gifted to the Team Liaison by Armstrong himself, we believe it is likely that this bike was ridden by Armstrong.