Armstrong still considers himself Tour de France champion despite 'fall from grace'

Disgraced American cycling star Lance Armstrong has said that he still considers himself a Tour de France champion even though he had been stripped of his seven titles grace for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong made the statement in a rare interview with a US magazine, which was posted alongside a how-to video in which the cyclist shows the correct way to change a bike's tire tube.

According to Sport24, Armstrong said that he thinks his fellow competitors would agree that he genuinely won cycling's greatest event, in his first public appearance since his January 2013 doping confession to talk show diva Oprah Winfrey following years of denials.

Stating that the widespread doping in the sport was a 'just a messy time' for him, Armstrong also said that they all 'played ball' that way as it was an 'arms race', adding that it would be a 'mistake' and would be 'disrespectful' to the sport, to leave 'seven years empty' and not recognize a Tour winner between 1999 and 2005.

No longer racing, or associated with the Livestrong cancer charity he founded, Armstrong said he still bikes 'occasionally' but runs 'more than anything' in order to keep fit, although he admitted that he has no idea as to what the future holds for him.