Lance Armstrong's First Major Appearance Since Doping Confession Could Be Iowa Bike Ride

The most famous cyclist on the planet will return to RAGBRAI this month, the Des Moines Register reports.

Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor who won seven Tour De France titles before having them stripped after admitting to doping earlier this year, told the Register he'd likely come to Iowa for three or four days of RAGBRAI starting with the opening party in Council Bluffs on Saturday, July 20.

The question is how he will be received in Iowa. The Register reports this would be Armstrong's first serious public exposure since fessing up to steroid use after years of denials to Oprah in a highly publicized television interview. 

Armstrong told the Register that he is a "big boy" and can handle the heat. 

“I’m well aware my presence is not an easy topic, and so I encourage people if they want to give a high five, great,” he told the Register. “If you want to shoot me the bird, that’s OK, too.”

RAGBRAI, or the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, starts in Council Bluffs on July 21 and ends 406 miles later in Fort Madison. It even passes right through West Des Moines and Des Moines. 

This is the 41st ride of what promoters call the oldest, largest, longest organized ride in America. 

Armstrong, 41, has ridden RAGBRAI before, first in 2006 and most recently in 2011, but this would be the first since coming clean about drug use, which has made him a polarizing figure around the world. 

RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz said Armstrong is welcome and that he is not paid to attend, although he doesn't have to pay an entrance fee.