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As the Tour de France kicks off at Passage du Gois this Saturday, Lance Armstrong, the man who has won the race a record seven times, won't be there. He's due to appear at the Aspen Ideas Festival, an event put on in part by the Aspen Institute, where he'll be giving a speech about using social media for social good.

Armstrong, who retired this year, stopped by earlier this month for the opening of Livestrong Sporting Park, a pro soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kan., named after his cancer foundation's brand. He pedaled in a recent event called the Harpeth River Ride near Nashville, Tenn., and joined the board of trustees of the Aspen Art Museum, which is planning a new 30,000-square-foot building by architect Shigeru Ban. "We are about to break ground on a new museum right downtown," Armstrong said in an email earlier this week.

Armstrong's public schedule and his visibility as an endorser have been topics of conversation in and out of cycling in recent months as he faces a public relations challenge and a potential legal fight. In the past 15 months, two of Armstrong's ex-teammates on the former U.S. Postal Service team publicly accused him of using banned performance-enhancing substances during his career.

A federal criminal investigation into alleged doping on his former U.S. Postal Service team and in pro cycling is continuing. The lead investigator in the U.S. criminal probe, special agent Jeff Novitzky of the Food and Drug Administration, didn't return messages. Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping allegations and has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

In announcing his retirement from professional cycling earlier this year, the 39-year-old Texan said he intended to spend more time with his children and would dedicate more energy to the Lance Armstrong Foundation he founded in 1997 after battling testicular cancer. Since late May, he has been spending more time in Aspen, Colo., with his girlfriend Anna Hansen and their two young children.

Armstrong is still working for a stable of sponsors including Nike, Nissan, Demand Media, FRS and Anheuser-Busch. This past spring, he made appearances at retailers and trade shows on behalf of Nike, one of the partners of his foundation. Nike, which makes a Livestrong collection of shoes, clothing and other merchandise, expanded the collection to Australia and New Zealand last month. "Our relationship with Lance remains as strong as ever," a Nike spokesman said.

Armstrong continues to appear in a commercial he taped late last year for Michelob Ultra. The ad, "The Right Trail," was shown during the recent U.S. Open golf broadcast, and is one of several Michelob Ultra ads that will run during this year's Tour de France. "Lance has performed as an extraordinary athlete in a demanding sport, making him admired by millions who lead active lifestyles," a spokesman for Anheuser-Busch said. "That was our opinion when we signed him and that is our opinion today." Mr. Armstrong signed a three-year deal with Michelob Ultra in 2009 that expires next year.

Compared to last year, when Armstrong competed in the Tour (he finished 23rd overall), his profile as a product endorser isn't what it was. Last year, advertisers including RadioShack, Anheuser-Busch, Trek and Nissan pitched their products in marketing efforts tied to Armstrong. RadioShack, which sponsored Armstrong's team, aired four television commercials featuring the cyclist. Nissan featured him riding his bike behind a Nissan Leaf.

Bill Stapleton, the agent who represents Armstrong in all aspects of his business, said in terms of marketing and advertising, Armstrong is " definitely in a lower profile position than he would be when he was competing, especially with the Tour de France beginning." Stapleton said it's only natural there'd be "some level of drop in demand," and that one "barometer" of that is fewer requests for speeches and public appearances by Armstrong. But Armstrong's still doing a lot of work, he said. Last year's Tour de France was "almost overkill," Stapleton said. "People probably knew that probably was his last one. You're definitely not going to have that sort of media wave this summer. And that's typical of a retired athlete."