Trek's all-black "Stolen bike" built for Tour of California. Thieves stole the bike, but later returned it.(Image credit: AFP)
Brian Donnelly: KAWS painted bike. Used at the Milano-Sanremo and the first stage of Castilla y León, where Armstrong crashed and broke his collarbone.(Image credit: AFP)
Brian Donnelly: KAWS painted bike. Used at the Milano-Sanremo and the first stage of Castilla y León, where Armstrong crashed and broke his collarbone.(Image credit: AFP)
Kenny Scharf: Designed with planets and comets, and used at the Giro d'Italia time trial stages.(Image credit: AFP)
Yoshitomo Nara: Painted by Japanese modern artist and used at Tour de France Annecy time trial stage.(Image credit: AFP)
Bike decorated a bike with real butterflies and used in Tour de France stage 21 to Paris.(Image credit: AFP)
Bike decorated a bike with real butterflies and used in Tour de France stage 21 to Paris.(Image credit: AFP)
Shepard Fairey: "Hope" bike honouring Barack Obama's presidential campaign and used at Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: AFP)
Shepard Fairey: "Hope" bike honouring Barack Obama's presidential campaign and used at Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: AFP)
Marc Newson: "Speed Concept" design used at Tour de France time trial stage in Monaco.(Image credit: AFP)
Lance Armstrong's custom designed bikes used during his comeback season raised $1.25 million in an auction in New York City yesterday. The money raised went to Armstrong's LiveStrong cancer foundation.
"So incredibly humbling," Armstrong wrote on Twitter after the auction.
The auction at Sotheby's ended a six-day exhibition called "It's About the Bike," which featured the seven bikes Armstrong used this season. Famous artists designed six of the seven bikes for Armstrong to use in his first season back since retiring in 2005.
"Each of these artists gave their time to this cause," said Armstrong in a LiveStrong press release. "Through the dollars that we raise, we'll increase awareness, fund research and work to end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face."
The Damien Hirst designed bike that Armstrong rode on the final stage of this year's Tour de France earned the most money. The butterfly decorated bike sold for $500,000.
Armstrong raised a total of $1,255,000 for his Livestrong charity.
Bikes: • Damien Hirst: Bike decorated a bike with real butterflies and used in Tour de France stage 21 to Paris. $500,000 • Brian Donnelly: KAWS painted bike. Used at the Milano-Sanremo and the first stage of Castilla y León, where Armstrong crashed and broke his collarbone. $160,000 • Yoshitomo Nara: Painted by Japanese modern artist and used at Tour de France Annecy time trial stage. $200,000 • Shepard Fairey: "Hope" bike honouring Barack Obama's presidential campaign and used at Giro d'Italia. $110,000 • Kenny Scharf: Designed with planets and comets, and used at the Giro d'Italia time trial stages. $45,000 • Marc Newson: "Speed Concept" design used at Tour de France time trial stage in Monaco. $110,000 • Trek's all-black "Stolen bike" built for Tour of California. Thieves stole the bike, but later returned it. $130,000
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