Lance Armstrong, the former cycling champion whose fall from grace cost him millions of dollars in lawsuits and endorsements, says an early investment in the ride hailing app Uber had saved his family from financial ruin.

Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from the sport for doping, told CNBC he gave $100,000 (£78,000) to a venture capital fund that invested in the company around 2009.

"It's saved our family," he said in an interview broadcast on Thursday.

In April he struck a deal with the US government to pay $5m in order to settle a long-running lawsuit that could have cost him $100m in damages.

But that did not mean he got off "scot free", he said, describing how legal fees and other settlements meant he had paid out $111m in total.

Armstrong said he was not aware that he was investing in Uber, which at the time was worth $3.7 million, when he gave money to venture capitalist Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital.