Lance Armstrong weighs start of new cancer foundation

Copyright 2014, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

Former elite cyclist and cancer crusader Lance Armstrong said he would consider starting a new foundation to combat the disease if he is not allowed to return to Livestrong, the iconic charity he created.

Armstrong, a 42-year-old cancer survivor, said he is weighing options to ramp up his involvement in fighting the disease as leaders at Livestrong offer conflicting opinions about his future with the organization.

Armstrong told The Des Moines Register in an exclusive interview that "if I'm not welcome" at Livestrong, he would either start another foundation, "which is probably the most likely scenario, or just be willing and able to help, wherever I'm asked."

A recent profile in Esquire magazine reported that Livestrong President Doug Ulman said a door was open to Armstrong's return to the foundation. The charity removed Armstrong in November 2012, a month after he was stripped of seven Tour de France titles and slapped with a lifetime competition ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Livestrong board Chairman Jeff Garvey released a statement to the Associated Press, however, that indicated Armstrong's return to the foundation "in any capacity is not on the table."

Armstrong, who plans to participate in his sixthRAGBRAI ride next week, started the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 after his own battle with testicular cancer. The organization, based in his hometown of Austin, Texas, has raised more than an estimated $500 million.

The possibility of a return to Livestrong was wholly unexpected, Armstrong said.

"I was surprised by that. That was never the impression I'd been given," he said. "To see the follow-up statement by the chairman, Jeff Garvey, that was more in line with where I think they are.

"That's beyond my control. I can't force that issue. But what I can do (is) stay committed to the fight, stay committed to the cause."

When asked how he would respond if Livestrong did ask him to return, Armstrong paused to consider his potential answer.

"That is a very, very tricky question," he said. "I'd have to ... I don't have the answer right now. That would have to involve a lot of conversation.

"I'm a big believer in the whole (author) Jim Collins theory of 'Who's on the bus? Who'd been on the bus? Who wanted to get off the bus? Who wants to get off the bus now?' So we might have to look at who's on the bus."

Armstrong countered, though, that the chance of a return seemed remote — or worse.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon," he said. "In fact, I'm almost certain that's not going to happen."

In the Esquire profile, Armstrong estimated he seeded the foundation with $7 million to $8 million of his own money.

Armstrong routinely and quietly stays in contact with individuals fighting cancer, but has acknowledged searching for a bigger role for the first time since the tumult of 2012.

"I think it's convenient for them to put me on the sidelines, but I'm not staying on the sidelines," he said.