I'm not in France to seek sympathy - Armstrong

Disgraced former Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has insisted he expects no sympathy as he rides a stage of the Tour de France for charity.

Armstrong faced a media scrum as he arrived for the start of the 'One Day Ahead' ride in Muret, organised by former England footballer Geoff Thomas.

Armstrong had already spoken of his sense of responsibility over the doping accusations faced by race leader Chris Froome during this year's Tour, but said he understood that his legacy as a drugs cheat would still hang over him while he was in France.

When asked if he was looking for sympathy, Armstrong said: "That's not true.

"It's nice to be back here helping a good cause and helping Geoff.

"Geoff started a great thing. He asked me to come. He made a real passionate effort, so I decided to do it.

"I can understand that there's still some hurt feelings. That's a process that I'll walk through for a long, long time."

Armstrong's appearance in France also prompted criticism from the team Bretagne-Seche, who tweeted him, saying: "You can ride anywhere, but no trouble in your mind to steal media interest to riders like ours who never cheated?"