Lance Armstrong to face trial in November

Cycling Legend Lance Armstrong meet with Auckland fans for Ride with Lance at Mechanics Bay on Tuesday morning. Photo / Greg Bowker.

Lance Armstrong's US$100 million (NZ$138m) legal fight with the federal government has been set for a November trial.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper on Thursday set a Nov. 6 trial start in Washington.

Armstrong's legal team had asked to postpone trial until 2018 because of a potential scheduling conflict.

The government wants Armstrong to pay back the US$32 million the U.S. Postal Service paid his team for sponsorship, plus triple damages.

Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis initially filed the whistle-blower case in 2010, accusing him of violating the sponsorship contract by taking performance-enhancing drugs.

The government joined the case in 2013 after Armstrong admitted cheating and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for cheating, could collect up to 25 percent of damages awarded.