To talk about Lance Armstrong is to talk about a fallen myth, a rider who, because of doping, went from being a sports idol and an example for many people to an example of what not to do. But aside from his sporting record, the American has never hesitated to support charitable causes, with his Livestrong Foundation raising huge amounts for cancer research and other educational projects. One of the actions with which the Livestrong Foundation managed to raise half a million dollars was by auctioning Lance Armstrong's bike at Sotheby's auction house. Butterfly was the name of the bicycle Trek Madone that, in 2009, after finishing the Tour de France, was 'tuned' by British artist Damien Hirst to turn it into a road bike unlike any other. Hirst attached real butterfly wings to the frame and wheels.

A bicycle with real butterflies

The technical problems that this particular decoration caused were significant. Hirst himself explained that his decision to use real butterflies and not just images of butterflies was because he wanted it to shine with a light that could only be achieved with real butterflies, and he also wanted not to add extra weight. The truth is that this hybrid between bicycle and artwork was surrounded by controversy, both because of its price and because of protests from animal rights organizations, who considered the work by Hirst to be in poor taste. To this day, Hirst continues to make headlines from time to time for his controversial works. 

Bono, the singer of the Irish group U2, spoke with Hirst to create Armstrong's bicycle so it could be auctioned for the Livestrong cancer foundation, but it seems that this Trek, although it achieved its goal, ended up being talked about more for the way it was decorated than for the noble reason behind its auction. The wings were the symbol of a new takeoff in Armstrong's carrera, who returned to the Tour de France in 2009 at age 37, after being voluntarily away from the road for three years. That year he finished third, although at the beginning of 2012 a judicial process began that ended up nullifying all the results the rider achieved from August 1, 1998 onward, as well as a lifetime ban that would prevent him from returning to professional sport. In the trial, he was ordered to be stripped of his 7 Tours and his Olympic medal.