Armstrong asks Bush for cancer funding

Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong asked US president George Bush for more money for cancer research during the "Tour de Crawford" on Saturday. The pair rode their mountain bikes for two hours over 17 miles (27 km) around the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, and Armstrong paid tribute to Bush's skills as a rider. "That old boy can go," Armstrong told ABC's This Week. "I didn't think he would punish himself that much, but he did."

While talking politics wasn't high on the agenda on Saturday, Armstrong did use the opportunity to push his favourite cause: raising money for cancer, the disease that Armstrong overcame to win his seven Tours. "I've never asked someone for so much money before," Armstrong said on This Week.

The pair were accompanied by a group of staff and secret service agents and a Discovery Channel TV crew. Afterwards, everyone received T-shirts with "Tour de Crawford" and "Peloton One" printed on the front and back, as well as a pair of presidential red, white and blue cycling socks.