Los Angeles, Feb 4: Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong crashed his car into two parked vehicles and let his girlfriend take the blame after a night out, reports said.

The 43-year-old's girlfriend, Anna Hansen, 33, initially told police yesterday she was behind the wheel of Armstrong's car following the incident in December in Aspen, Colorado.

She later admitted to officers that Armstrong -- given a life-ban from cycling three years ago after admitting doping -- had been driving the car at the time, The Denver Post reported.

He faces charges for failing to report an accident and speeding, which are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $300, it said.

According to the Aspen Daily News, which first reported the December 28 incident, Hansen initially lied about who was behind the wheel and about whether Armstrong had been drinking, to avoid national headlines.

She was cited in two traffic tickets, but they were subsequently transferred to Armstrong on January 12 after the circumstances had been clarified, the Daily News reported.

Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles and given a life-ban from cycling by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2012 for doping.

The cancer-survivor eventually made a public confession in a television interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2013.

AFP