Artist-designed bike auction

ROME: Lance Armstrong plans to auction off his Giro d'Italia and Tour de France bikes, which will feature designs from artists including Shepard Fairey and Damien Hurst, a British artist.

Armstrong has posted photos on his Twitter account of his bikes for the Giro, which starts Saturday in Venice. They feature an intricate yellow-and-black design by Fairey, who is in a legal battle with The Associated Press over his famous image of President Barack Obama.

Fairey made the iconic Obama campaign posters "Obama Hope" and "Obama Progress," which were based on an AP photo from 2006.