Lance Armstrong Vlogs Along the Tour de France

Last year during Tour de France time, we looked at all the ways one could follow the 21-day bicycle race, but one perspective was notably absent — that of the actual cyclists competing. And who better to represent them than a mid-comeback Lance Armstrong?

Racing to spread the LiveStrong brand, Armstrong, with the Astana team, today crossed the halfway mark of the 2,141-mile journey, a journey Armstrong and his support staff have been meticulously documenting across multiple platforms (check out the Facebook page to find out what’s for breakfast!). I’ve known that Armstrong was comfortable in front of a camera ever since his cameo in the film Dodgeball, and in this first-ever race-vlogging experiment, he doesn’t disappoint. The access is intimate without feeling overexposed, and the set-ups never get tired; Armstrong speaks to his fans from the bus, from his hotel room — even from his bike.

Plus, there’s the occasional special guest star! A goateed Robin Williams at one point both bares his heart surgery scar and relentlessly mocks Armstrong’s socks, and before Stage 4, Ben Stiller tries to give Armstrong a “break”. (That may have actually paid off, given that the Astana team came in first that day.)

These random moments from the trail are a lot more engaging, honestly, than the field contributions documenting the race, especially for a non-cycling fan: The main attraction of this series is Armstrong unplugged, and the best videos reflect that. His wrap-up from the end of Stage 9 is a bit intense, as he talks about the loss of one of his teammates in 1995 during the same stage, which meant that this was “an emotional day” (especially if you didn’t know that a few people have DIED during this thing).

Since being founded in 1997, the LiveStrong foundation has evolved way beyond wristbands to become a hub for all sorts of cancer-fighting causes (a recent example would be their new partnership with #blamedrewscancer Twitter campaign). Given that this series is being produced under the LiveStrong banner, you might ask how vigorously the brand is being promoted, but while Armstrong is definitely engaging with his community (his vlogs tend to end with a shout-out to those working on various projects and fundraisers), the focus is on the race and his progress. Which is great, because that’s what Armstrong does best — inspire us with his strength and success.