“I think the cycling helmet makes me more recognisable. This is not good.”
It is almost commendable that Armstrong is leaning into his own life woes, by playing himself in Tour De Pharmacy, a new mockumentary dealing with steroid abuse in the world of professional cycling.
“Nearly every rider was on drugs,” we’re told by Maya Rudolph’s character at the start of the trailer, which comes from Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Hot Rod) and the rest of the team who brought us 7 Days In Hell, a comedy documentary about the world of professional tennis.
This time he’s filled out the cast-list with some hugely impressive names (Kevin Bacon, James Marseden, Orlando Bloom, John Cena, Will Forte) and another, separate list of “Huh? Why are they in this?” names (Dolph Lundgren, J.J. Abrams, Mike Tyson).
And then there’s Lance Armstrong.
He previously appeared as himself in Dodgeball (pre-career freefall) and was actually pretty impressive at playing a funny version of himself, but whether or not we as an audience are willing to accept him poking fun at himself here is yet to be seen.
Tour De Pharmacy will premiere on HBO in the States on 8 July, with no set release date for the UK & Ireland just yet.
Clip via HBO
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
