But the nadir, Armstrong says, was his departure from his cancer awareness charity Livestrong, which distributed the iconic plastic yellow bracelets.

It happened in two phone calls.

They first asked him to resign as chairman of the board.

The second call was less to the point. "We need you to consider stepping down for yourself," Armstrong said he was told.

He got out of the way and hopes the charity, which was built on his debunked fairy tale legacy, can carry on without him.

"It hurt like hell," Armstrong said. "That was the lowest."

Armstrong's golden halo in the sport's annals has decayed to a black mark. No other cyclist was awarded the victories he was disqualified from.

In place of a record seven wins by Lance Armstrong, the chronicles of the Tour de France bear seven record vacancies.

No one won.