Lance Armstrong’s prospects looked bleak when he admitted to Oprah Winfrey in 2013 that he cheated to win his Tour de France titles, putting the brakes on a career that made him more than US$200mil (RM833mil) and deepening his legal troubles.

An investment in a venture capital fund that bought into Uber Technologies Inc has proved to be a lifeline for the disgraced cyclist. The 47-year-old told CNBC that the investment had been “too good to be true,” and “saved our family.”