Lance Armstrong’s surprise announcement in 2008 that he would return to cycling to raise global awareness about cancer prompted widespread speculation about performance-enhancing drugs, the validity of his past victories and his true motivations.

In Tour de Lance, Bill Strickland follows Armstrong’s 2009 return to racing from January’s Tour Down Under in Australia to the Tour de France in July and asks what drives someone to step back into the glare of the spotlight after walking away from adulation. Is it ego? Is it boredom? Why is it that we love a comeback?

Strickland’s second-to-none knowledge of the cycling world makes Tour de Lance a compelling look at both the sport’s complex dynamics and one of the most celebrated – and controversial – cyclists of our time.