Aspen Art Museum backs Lance Armstrong

This July 23, 2000 file photo shows Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong riding down the Champs Elysees with an American flag after the 21st and final stage of the cycling race in Paris, France, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling’s governing body Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. UCI President Pat McQuaid announced that the federation accepted the USADA’s report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (AP FILE PHOTO/Laurent Rebours

WASHINGTON—Lance Armstrong, stripped of his seven Tour de France cycling titles and deserted by major corporate sponsors, received the backing of the Aspen Art Museum, which will keep him on its board of directors.

Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, director of the art museum in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain ski resort, told The Aspen Times that Armstrong, who has a chalet there but is based in Austin, Texas, will remain on the museum’s guiding panel.

“Lance Armstrong is an active member of the Aspen Art Museum board of trustees since 2011,” she said in a statement. “He is, has been and will continue to be an excellent board member and good citizen in our community.”

Armstrong attended a museum fundraiser in August that raised a reported $1.8 million. Three weeks later, Armstrong said he would not challenge doping charges against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

That led USADA to strip him of his results since 1998, including Tour titles from 1999-2005, and issue a life ban. Those punishments were upheld on Monday by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

Two days after USADA imposed its ban last August, Armstrong competed in a mountain bike race from Snowmass to Aspen, finishing second to a teen Aspen high school student.

Armstrong built a home in Aspen and became a familiar figure training and socializing in the area.