Ex-Tour champion Armstrong may watch finish

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, riding in an Iowa cycling event to promote his cancer campaign, said he may fly to France to watch former team-mates vying for the lead in this year's Tour.

"I might have to bug out early Friday night and fly (to Paris), just because they did so well," Armstrong told a crowd in Cedar Falls, Iowa, after Wednesday's ride in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The event is organized by the Des Moines Register, the state's leading newspaper.

Alberto Contador of Armstrong's former Discovery Channel team was among the leaders in this year's Tour de France, which ends in Paris on Sunday and has once again has been shadowed by doping scandals.

During an appearance on MSNBC on Wednesday, Armstrong was asked about the doping disqualifications that have rocked the world's best-known stage race.

"It shows that racing has done more than any other sport," the now-retired Armstrong told "Hardball" host Chris Matthews. "It shows the controls work."

Throughout his career, Armstrong defended himself against doping allegations. He has always denied taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong was joined by Democratic presidential contender John Edwards on Wednesday along with some 20,000 other riders participating in the Iowa ride.

Armstrong, a survivor of testicular cancer, speaks out for more funding for cancer research. Edwards' wife has been diagnosed with an inoperable form of the disease.