Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American former professional
road racing cyclistRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
who won the
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
a record seven consecutive times, after having survived
testicular cancerTesticular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...
. He is also the founder and chairman of the
Lance Armstrong FoundationThe Lance Armstrong Foundation is a United States 501 nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer, founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. The LAF states that its mission is 'to inspire and empower' cancer sufferers and their families...
for cancer research and support. He last rode for (and helped found) UCI ProTeam .
In October 1996 he was diagnosed as having
testicular cancerTesticular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...
, with a
tumorA tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
that had
metastasizedMetastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive
chemotherapyChemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from
1999The 1999 Tour de France was the 86th Tour de France, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 1999. It was won by Lance Armstrong, his first of 7 consecutive wins, the most in Tour history. There were no French stage winners for the first time since the 1926 Tour de France.The 1999 edition of Tour de...
to
2005The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
, and is the only person to win seven times, having broken the previous record of five wins, shared by
Miguel IndurainMiguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour...
,
Bernard HinaultBernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...
,
Eddy MerckxEdouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
, and
Jacques AnquetilJacques Anquetil was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964...
.
In 1999, he was named the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. In 2002,
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine named him
Sportsman of the YearSince its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
. He was also named
Associated Press Male Athlete of the YearThe first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete...
for the years 2002–2005. He received
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's
ESPY AwardAn ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas PersonalityThe BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year is an award presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. The award is presented to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in that year. The award is decided by a...
Award in 2003. Armstrong announced his retirement from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the
2005 Tour de FranceThe 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
, but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009, and finished third in the
2009 Tour de FranceThe 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
. He confirmed he had retired from competitive cycling for good on February 16, 2011.
Early career
Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Oak Cliff, Texas in the southern sector of Dallas.
At the age of 12, he began his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He abandoned swimming-only competition after seeing a poster for a junior
triathlonA triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he entered and won at age 13.
In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of
USA TriathlonUSA Triathlon is the national governing body for the multisport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USA Triathlon is a member federation of the U.S...
), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was
Chann McRaeWilliam Chann McRae is an American professional road bicycle racer from Albany, Georgia. He was a professional from 1996 to 2003.-Career:1990199219941997...
, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002
USPRO national championThe United States National Professional Road Race Championships began in 1985. They are run by the governing body, USA Cycling. Until 2006 the race was open to all nationalities, the first American to finish being named the winner and given a distinctive jersey...
. Armstrong's points total for 1987 as an amateur was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.
It became clear that his greatest talent was for bicycle racing after he won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1991. Representing the U.S., he finished 14th in the
1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
. This performance earned him his first professional contract with Motorola. He won his first race with Motorola, the Trophee Laigueglia in Italy, beating the favourite
Moreno ArgentinMoreno Argentin is an Italian former professional cyclist .Born in San Donà di Piave , he won stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de Suisse. Known as Il Capo , he won Liège–Bastogne–Liège four times, the La Flèche Wallonne three times and the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Giro...
.
In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races. He stunned the cycling world when at age 21 he became one of the youngest riders to ever win the UCI Road World Championship, held in pouring rain in Norway that year. Prior to his World's win, he took his first stage win at the
Tour de FranceThe 1993 Tour de France was the 80th Tour de France, taking place July 3 to July 25, 1993. It consisted of 20 stages, over 3714.3 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.709 km/h....
, in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to
VerdunVerdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
. He was in 97th place overall when he abandoned the 1993 race in the Alps after the 12th stage.
He also collected the
Thrift DrugThrift Drug was a pharmacy chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1937 and purchased by J.C. Penney in 1968, and was expanded greatly thereafter. The chain served as the flagship chain of J.C. Penney's pharmacy group. The chain didn't hide its affiliation with J.C. Penney, as...
Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the
CoreStatesCoreStates Financial Corporation was a United States bank holding company in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area.The bank, previously known as PNB , was renamed in the mid-1980s after a series of mergers...
USPRO national championshipThe United States National Professional Road Race Championships began in 1985. They are run by the governing body, USA Cycling. Until 2006 the race was open to all nationalities, the first American to finish being named the winner and given a distinctive jersey...
in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to a rider winning all three races, a feat previously unachieved. At the USPRO championship, Armstrong sat up on his bicycle on the final lap, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.
In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the
Tour DuPontThe Tour DuPont was a cycling stage race in the United States held between 1991 and 1996. It was intended to become a North American cycling event similar in format and prestige to the Tour de France. The tour's name came from its sponsor, DuPont...
in the United States. His successes in Europe were second placings in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the
Clásica de San SebastiánThe Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa - Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián is a cycle race that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián, Spain...
, where just two years before, he finished in last place as his first all-pro event in Europe.
He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, and this time won the Tour DuPont and took a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to
LimogesLimoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
in the Tour De France. He dedicated the win to teammate
Fabio CasartelliFabio Casartelli was an Italian cyclist and an Olympic gold medalist who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet, France, during the 15th stage of the 1995 Tour de France.He was born in Como, Italy....
who died in a crash on the descent of the
Col de Portet d'AspetThe Col de Portet d'Aspet is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees in the department of Haute-Garonne in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Aspet and St. Girons. At , it connects the Ger and Bouigane valleys, on the slopes of the Pic de Paloumère .-Details of climb:Starting from...
on the 15th stage, two days before.
Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the
La Flèche WallonneLa Flèche Wallonne is a major men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium.The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège...
and again won the Tour DuPont. However, his performances began to suffer and he was only able to compete for five days in the Tour De France. At Atlanta he was only able to finish 6th in the
time trialIn many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
and 12th in the road race in the 1996 Olympic Games.
Cancer
On October 2, 1996, then aged 25, Armstrong was diagnosed as having developed stage three
testicular cancerTesticular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...
(
Embryonal carcinomaEmbryonal carcinoma is a relatively uncommon type of germ cell tumour that occurs in the ovaries and testes.-Ovarian embryonal carcinoma:In the ovary, embryonal carcinoma is quite rare, amounting to approximately three percent of ovarian germ cell tumours. The median age at diagnosis is 15 years...
). The cancer
spreadMetastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
to his lungs, abdomen and brain. On that first visit to a urologist in Austin, Texas, for his cancer symptoms he was coughing up blood and had a large, painful testicular tumor. Immediate surgery and chemotherapy were required to save his life. Armstrong had an
orchiectomyInguinal orchiectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a testicle and the full spermatic cord through an incision in the abdomen. Orchiectomy is one form of castration. The procedure is generally performed by a urologist. Often it is performed as same-day surgery, with the patient returning home...
to remove his diseased testicle. After his surgery, his doctor stated that he had less than a 40% survival chance.
The standard chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of this type of cancer is a cocktail of the drugs
bleomycinBleomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic produced by the bacterium Streptomyces verticillus. Bleomycin refers to a family of structurally related compounds. When used as an anticancer agent, the chemotherapeutical forms are primarily bleomycin A2 and B2. It works by causing breaks in DNA...
,
etoposideEtoposide phosphate is an anti-cancer agent. It is known in the laboratory as a topoisomerase poison. Etoposide is often incorrectly referred to as a topoisomerase inhibitor in order to avoid using the term "poison" in a clinical setting...
, and
cisplatinCisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a chemotherapy drug. It is used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors...
(or Platinol) (BEP). Armstrong, however, chose an alternative,
etoposideEtoposide phosphate is an anti-cancer agent. It is known in the laboratory as a topoisomerase poison. Etoposide is often incorrectly referred to as a topoisomerase inhibitor in order to avoid using the term "poison" in a clinical setting...
,
ifosfamideIfosfamide is a nitrogen mustard alkylating agent used in the treatment of cancer.It is sometimes abbreviated "IFO".-Uses:It is given as a treatment for a variety of cancers, including:...
, and
cisplatinCisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a chemotherapy drug. It is used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors...
(VIP), to avoid the lung toxicity associated with the drug bleomycin. This decision may have saved his cycling career. His primary treatment was received at the
Indiana UniversityIndiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(IU),
IndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Medical Center, where Dr.
Lawrence EinhornDr. Lawrence Einhorn is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and an oncologist.- Overview :Dr. Einhorn pioneered the development of the life-saving medical treatment in 1974 for testicular cancer, increasing the survival rate from 10% to 95% .Dr. Einhorn...
had pioneered the use of cisplatinum to treat testicular cancer. His primary oncologist there was Dr. Craig Nichols. His brain tumors were surgically removed by Scott A. Shapiro, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery at Indiana University and Resident Director, and were found to contain extensive
necrosisNecrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
. According to Armstrong's first book, Dr. Shapiro convinced him that he was the right neurosurgeon for him by saying: "You'll have to convince me you know what you're doing," said Armstrong. "Look, I've done a large number of these," Shapiro said, "I've never had anyone die, and I've never made anyone worse." "Yeah, but why should you be the person who operates on my head?" Armstrong responded. "Because as good as you are at cycling"-he paused-"I'm a lot better at brain surgery". His last chemotherapy treatment was received on December 13, 1996.
His cancer went into complete remission, and by January 1998 he was already engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe to race for the U.S. Postal team. A pivotal week (April 1998) in his comeback was one he spent training in the very challenging Appalachian terrain around Boone, North Carolina, with his racing friend
Bob RollBob Roll is a former American professional cyclist, author, and television sports commentator. He was a member of the 7-Eleven Cycling Team until 1990 and competed for the Motorola Cycling Team in 1991. In 1992 Roll moved to Greg LeMond’s Z team and added mountain biking to his racing...
.
Tour de France success
Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had won two Tour de France stages. In 1993, he won the 8th stage and in
1995The 1995 Tour de France was the 82nd Tour de France, taking place July 1 to July 23, 1995. It was Miguel Indurain's fifth and final victory in the Tour. On the fifteenth stage Italian rider Fabio Casartelli died after an accident on the Col de Portet d'Aspet....
he took stage 18 in honor of teammate
Fabio CasartelliFabio Casartelli was an Italian cyclist and an Olympic gold medalist who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet, France, during the 15th stage of the 1995 Tour de France.He was born in Como, Italy....
who crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of the 1996 Tour on the 7th stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis.
Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 when he finished fourth in the
Vuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
. In 1999 he won the Tour de France, including four stages. He beat the second rider,
Alex ZülleAlex Zülle is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the best cyclists in the world, winning the Vuelta a España twice and taking the second place in 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996.-Early career:Zülle was born and...
, by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of
Jan UllrichJan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport...
(injury) and
Marco PantaniMarco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...
(drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names. Stage wins included the prologue, stage eight, an
individual time trialAn individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
in
MetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, an Alpine stage on stage nine, and the second individual time trial on stage 19.
In 2000, Ullrich and Pantani returned to challenge Armstrong. The race that began a six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong ended in victory for Armstrong by 6 minutes 2 seconds over Ullrich. Armstrong took one stage in the 2000 Tour, the second individual time trial on stage 19. In 2001, Armstrong again took top honors, beating Ullrich by 6 minutes 44 seconds. In 2002, Ullrich did not participate due to suspension, and Armstrong won by seven minutes over
Joseba BelokiJoseba Beloki Dorronsoro is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.-Biography:Beloki turned professional in 1998 with Euskaltel-Euskadi, joined Festina in 2000, and then Team ONCE in 2001...
.
The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only 1 minute 1 second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the
team time trialA team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
on stage four, while Armstrong took stage 15, despite being knocked off on the ascent to
Luz ArdidenLuz Ardiden is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Midi-Pyrénées. The ski resort, which lies at a height of 1720 meters, opened on January 16, 1975...
, the final climb, when a spectator's bag caught his right handlebar. Ullrich waited for him, which brought Ullrich fair-play honors.
In 2004, Armstrong finished first, 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of German
Andreas KlödenAndreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...
. Ullrich was fourth, a further 2 minutes 31 seconds behind. Armstrong won a personal best five individual stages, plus the team time trial. He became the first since
Gino BartaliGino Bartali, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Tour de France in 1938...
in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up
Alpe d'HuezL'Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département in the Rhône-Alpes region.-Tour de France:L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the main mountains in the Tour de France...
was won in style by Armstrong as he passed
Ivan BassoIvan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
on the way despite setting out two minutes after the Italian. He won sprint finishes from Basso in stages 13 and 15 and made up a significant gap in the last 250 m to nip Klöden at the line in stage 17. He won the final individual time trial, stage 19, to complete his personal record of stage wins.
In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by
David ZabriskieDavid Zabriskie is a professional road bicycle racer from the United States who rides for . His main strength is individual time trials and his career highlights include stage wins in all three Grand Tour stage races and winning the US National Time Trial Championship six times...
in the Stage 1 time trial by 2 seconds, despite passing Ullrich on the road. His Discovery Channel team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won the final individual time trial. In the mountain stages, Armstrong was attacked multiple times mostly by Ivan Basso, but also by T-mobile leaders Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinokourov and former teammate
Levi LeipheimerLevi Leipheimer is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major results are winning the 2007–2009 editions of the Tour of California, the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré and the 2005 Deutschland Tour, coming in second in the 2008 Vuelta a España, third in the 2001 Vuelta a...
. But still, the American champion handled them well, maintained his lead and, on some occasions, increased it. To complete his record-breaking feat, Armstrong crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his 7th consecutive Tour, finishing 4m 40s ahead of Basso, with Ullrich third. Another record achieved that year, was that Armstrong completed the tour at the highest pace in the race's history: his average speed over the whole tour being 41.7km/hr(26 mph).
On July 24, 2005, Armstrong officially announced his retirement from professional cycling after his 7th consecutive Tour de France win.
Astana: 2008
Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008 that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the
2009 Tour de FranceThe 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
. "After talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden", Armstrong said on his livestrong.org website.
VeloNews reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online.
The announcement ended speculation that he would return with in the Tour of California, Paris–Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphiné-Libéré. Astana missed the 2008 Tour de France after Alexandre Vinokourov was ejected from the 2007 Tour for blood doping.
Australian
ABCThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio reported on September 24, 2008 that Armstrong would compete in the UCI
Tour Down UnderThe Tour Down Under is a cycling race in Adelaide, South Australia and surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year and attracts riders from across Australia and the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the...
through
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and surrounding areas in January 2009. UCI rules say a cyclist has to be in an anti-doping program for six months before an event, but UCI allowed Armstrong to compete. The Premier of South Australia,
Mike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
, declared that Armstrong's participation would make the tour "the biggest sporting event in South Australian history."
In October 2008, Armstrong confirmed he would compete in the
2009 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 9 to 31 May 2009, and marked the 100th year since the first edition of the race...
, his first participation.
On January 17, Armstrong said at a press conference for the Tour Down Under that his comeback was motivated by spending most of his days spreading the Livestrong message and raising national awareness of cancer. Though his fitness levels had supposedly returned to peak condition, Armstrong placed 29th in the race. Armstrong said he considered this a successful result, as the thousands of fans who flocked to Adelaide to see him compete – booking every hotel room in the city – added A$17 million to the South Australian economy, and the government rewarded his effort by pledging A$4.1 million towards the construction of a centre for cancer research.
Armstrong's Trek bicycle was stolen while he was in Sacramento, California, for the Amgen Tour of California. This time-trial bike was returned to the Sacramento police by an anonymous citizen on February 18, 2009, four days after it disappeared from the Astana team truck. A police statement read, "The facts surrounding how the person came into possession of the bicycle are not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation."
In February 2009, Armstrong was confirmed to compete in the
Tour of IrelandThe Tour of Ireland is a bicycle stage race held in August. The first race debuted in 1953 and ran until 1957. It was revived in 1965 and ran until 1985. In 1985 the 5 day Nissan International Classic took over as the Tour of Ireland. This lasted for 8 years until 1992...
from August 19–23, 2009, before then participating in the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit from August 24–26th in Dublin. The
Astana Cycling teamAstana is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007...
confirmed in early March that Armstrong would return to Europe to continue his comeback season with races at Milan – San Remo and the
Vuelta a Castilla y LeónThe Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Past winners:-External links:*...
.
He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in
BaltanásBaltanás is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality had a population of 1,452 inhabitants....
, Spain and breaking his
collarboneIn human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
.
Armstrong flew back to
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation. On April 10, 2009, a controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager,
Johan BruyneelJohan Bruyneel is a former road bicycle racer in professional cycling and a directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team . Retiring from racing in 1998, he became director of , a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team...
, stemming from a March 17, 2009 encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in
Beaulieu-sur-MerBeaulieu-sur-Mer , Italian: Belluogo, is a seaside village on the French Riviera between Nice and Monaco. It is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department and borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Èze, and Villefranche-sur-Mer.-History:...
. When the official arrived, Armstrong claims he asked—and was granted—permission to take a shower while Bruyneel checked the official's credentials. In late April, the AFLD cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. Armstrong returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the
Tour of the GilaThe Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, USA. It is currently sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987....
in
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
on April 29.
On July 7, in the fourth stage of the
2009 Tour de FranceThe 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the
team time trialA team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of
Montpellier-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second (0.22) outside of
Fabian CancellaraFabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...
's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France in third place overall, 5:24 behind the overall winner, his Astana teammate
Alberto ContadorAlberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...
.
Team RadioShack: 2010–11
On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010.
RadioShackRadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named
Team RadioShackTeam RadioShack is a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owns and leads the team, which plans to race in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, as well as running and triathlon events...
. Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the
2010 Tour Down UnderThe 2010 Tour Down Under was the 12th edition of the Tour Down Under cycling stage race. It was held from 19 January to 24 January 2010, traveling from Clare to Adelaide in South Australia. It was the first event in the 2010 UCI World Calendar...
where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders that completed the race. He made his European season debut at the
2010 Vuelta a MurciaThe Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The race consists of a men's competition over five stages and is part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 2.1 event. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs....
finishing in 7th place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan – San Remo,
Amstel Gold RaceThe Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the
Tour of FlandersThe Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics road cycling race held in Belgium every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders...
, but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races.
Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Amgen Tour of California, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside
VisaliaVisalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race. He showed fine shape after recovering from the Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg.
On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the
2010 editionThe 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996...
would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour de France prologue TT, finishing third, but was plagued by crashes in later stages that put him out of GC contention, especially a serious crash in stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyreneean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate
Chris HornerChristopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...
. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind winner
Alberto ContadorAlberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...
. He was also a key rider in helping Team RadioShack win the team competition, beating Caisse D’Epargne by 9 minutes, 15 seconds.
In October, he announced the end of international career after the
Tour Down UnderThe Tour Down Under is a cycling race in Adelaide, South Australia and surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year and attracts riders from across Australia and the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the...
of January 2011. He stated that after January 2011 he will only race in the U.S. with the
RadioshackRadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
domestic team.
Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling 'for good' on February 16, 2011, while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations.
Physical attributes
Armstrong has recorded
an aerobic capacityVO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual...
of 83.8 mL/kg/min (VO
2 max), much higher than the average person (40–50), but lower than some other
Tour De FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
winners, such as
Miguel IndurainMiguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour...
(88.0, although reports exist that Indurain tested at 92–94) and
Greg LeMondGregory James LeMond is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada....
(92.5). At his peak, he had a
resting heart rateHeart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
of 32–34 beats per minute (bpm) with a maximum heart rate of 201 bpm.
Collaboration of sponsors
Armstrong revolutionized the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of the team. For example, rather than having the frame, handlebars, and tires designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction, his teams adopted a
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One", taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team,
TrekTrek Bicycle Corporation is a major bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Klein and until recently, LeMond Racing Cycles...
,
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek company),
ShimanoShimano, Inc. is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of cycling components, fishing tackle, and rowing equipment.In 2005, the company had net sales of US $1.4 billion. Bicycle components provided 75% of its sales income...
, Sram,
GiroGiro is a U.S. manufacturer of helmets, sunglasses, goggles and softgoods for cycling, skiing and snowboarding. The company was founded in 1985 by Jim Gentes and is headquartered in the Santa Cruz, California area....
and
OakleyOakley, Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, California, makes sport equipment including sunglasses, sports visors, and ski goggles, as well as watches, clothing, bags, backpacks, shoes, prescription glasses, football and hockey eyewear, Golf gear and other accessories...
, collaborated for an array of products.
Family and personal life
Armstrong was born to Linda Mooneyham, a secretary, and Eddie Charles Gunderson, a route manager for
The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
. His great-grandfather was the son of Norwegian immigrants while his Armstrong family originate from
ScotlandThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
. He was named after
Lance RentzelThomas Lance Rentzel is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams from 1965 to 1974.-Early years:...
, a
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
wide receiver. His father left his mother when Lance was two and has two other children from another relationship. His mother later married Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance in 1974. Armstrong refuses to meet his birth father and has described Terry Armstrong as deceitful.
Armstrong met Kristin Richard in June 1997. They married on May 1, 1998 and had three children: Luke David, born October 1999, and twins Isabelle Rose and Grace Elisabeth, born November 2001. The pregnancy was possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, prior to chemotherapy and surgery. The couple filed for divorce in September 2003. At Armstrong's request, his children flew in for the Tour de France podium ceremony in 2005, where Luke helped his father hoist the trophy, while his daughters (in yellow dresses) held the stuffed lion mascot and bouquet of yellow flowers.
Armstrong began dating singer-songwriter
Sheryl CrowSheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
in the autumn of 2003 and revealed their relationship in January 2004. The couple announced their
engagementAn engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
in September 2005 and their split in February 2006.
In December 2008, Armstrong announced that his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, was pregnant with his child. The couple started dating in July 2008 after meeting through Armstrong's charity work. Although it was believed that Armstrong could no longer father children, after having undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer, this child was conceived naturally. The baby boy, Maxwell Edward Armstrong, was born on June 4, 2009 in
Aspen, ColoradoThe City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
. Armstrong announced the birth via Twitter. Armstrong has become a popular Twitter user, with more than 3 million followers in October 2011.
In April 2010, Armstrong, using Twitter, announced that Anna Hansen was having his fifth child. Olivia Marie Armstrong was born October 18, 2010.
Armstrong owns homes in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and Aspen, Colorado, as well as a ranch in the
Texas Hill CountryThe Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
. Armstrong is a fan of the University of Texas
LonghornsThe Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
college football program and is often seen on the sidelines supporting the team.
With regard to religion, he is agnostic, quoted as saying, "at the end of the day, if there was indeed some body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a god at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, 'But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven.' If so, I was going to reply, 'You know what? You're right. Fine.'"
Allegations of doping
For much of the second phase of his career, Armstrong has faced persistent allegations of doping. A number of high-profile cyclists and assorted journalists have alleged that he cheated. However, no allegations have ever been substantiated, and Armstrong retains respect and prestige in many circles.
In addition, Armstrong has been criticised for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as
Paul KimmagePaul Kimmage is an award-winning sports journalist who writes for the Sunday Times newspaper in the United Kingdom and is a former professional road bicycle racer.Kimmage was born into a cycling family...
and
Christophe BassonsChristophe Bassons is a French former professional road racing cyclist whose career ended when he spoke out about doping in the Tour de France.-Origins:...
. Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the
pelotonThe peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...
. Subsequently, Armstrong had an altercation with Bassons during the 1999 Tour De France where Bassons said Armstrong rode up alongside on the Alpe d'Huez stage to tell him "it was a mistake to speak out the way I [Bassons] do and he [Armstrong] asked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation of riders. Then he said 'Why don't you leave, then?' Armstrong confirmed the story. On the main evening news on
TF1TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
, a national television station, Armstrong said: "His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home". Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became a sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a "cancer in cycling". He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his "admiration for dopers" at a press conference at the Tour of California in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong. This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in
The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
.
Armstrong has continually denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs and has described himself as the most tested athlete in the world. A 1999 urine sample showed traces of
corticosteroidCorticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiologic systems such as stress response, immune response and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte...
in an amount that was not in the positive range. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for
saddle soresA saddle sore in humans is a skin ailment on the buttocks due to, or exacerbated by, cycling on a bicycle saddle or horse riding. It often develops in three stages: skin abrasion, folliculitis , and finally abscess....
which contained the substance.
From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities. All of the tests were negative for performance-enhancing drugs.
Specific allegations
- Armstrong has been criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari
Michele Ferrari is an Italian physician, cycling coach and author.-Biography:Ferrari was born in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, where he still lives...
. Greg LeMondGregory James LeMond is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada....
described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
organizer Jean-Marie LeblancJean-Marie Leblanc is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director of the Tour de France from 1989 to 2005, when he reached pensionable age and was succeeded by Christian Prudhomme.He became a professional in 1966 and rode until 1971...
said, "I am not happy the two names are mixed." Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong suspended his professional relationship with him, saying that he had "zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs" and denying that Ferrari had ever "suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs." Ferrari was later absolved of all charges by an Italian appeals court of the sporting fraud charges as well as charges of abusing his medical license to write prescriptions. The court stated that it overturned his conviction "because the facts do not exist" to support the charges. Ferrari, however, is still banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation. According to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as recently as 2010 in a country outside of Italy.
- In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs (L. A. Confidentiel
L. A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong is a book by sports journalists David Walsh, of The Sunday Times, and Pierre Ballester....
– Les secrets de Lance Armstrong). It contains allegations by Armstrong's former masseuse, Emma O'Reilly, who claimed Armstrong once asked her to dispose of used syringes and to give him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms. Another figure in the book, Steve Swart, claims he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while members of the Motorola team, a claim denied by other team members. Allegations in the book were reprinted in the UK newspaper The Sunday Times in a story by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for libel, and the paper settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect." The newspaper's lawyers issued the statement: "The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression." (See also in The Guardian). The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published "L.A. Official" and "Le Sale Tour" (The Dirty Trick), further cementing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.
- On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief in Travis County District Court in Texas, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004 as an employee of Armstrong. Anderson worked for Armstrong for two years as a personal assistant. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of androstenone
Androstenone is a steroid found in both male and female sweat and urine. It is also found in boar's saliva, and in celery cytoplasm. Androstenone was the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concentrations in the saliva of male pigs, and, when sniffed by a female pig...
while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in GironaGirona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, Spain. Androstenone is not on the list of banned drugs. Anderson stated in a subsequent deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using a banned substance. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
- On August 23, 2005, L'Équipe, a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "le mensonge Armstrong" ("The Armstrong Lie") that 6 urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for erythropoietin
Erythropoietin, or its alternatives erythropoetin or erthropoyetin or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production...
(EPO) in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods. Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, "Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in a strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected.' I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs." In October 2008, the AFLD gave Armstrong the opportunity to have samples taken during the 1998 and 1999 Tours de France retested. Armstrong immediately refused, saying, "the samples have not been maintained properly." Head of AFLD Pierre Bordry stated: "Scientifically there is no problem to analyze these samples – everything is correct" and "If the analysis is clean it would have been very good for him. But he doesn't want to do it and that's his problem." However, according to the results of an investigative report by Emile Vrijman (a Dutch lawyer and the former head of the Dutch anti-doping agency, which he headed for ten years), who was appointed by the UCI to head an independent investigations into the LNDD lab’s findings, it was determined that the analysis of the urine samples were conducted improperly and that they “did not satisfy any standard for doping control testing.” Vrijman’s report went on to state that handling and testing of the samples fell so far short of scientific standards, and that “the process that generated those results and the subsequent reports was so deficient” that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest that the results could "constitute evidence of anything,” and cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. But WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.".
- In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
reported claims by Betsy and Frankie AndreuFrankie Andreu is a former professional cyclist whose career highlights include riding as team captain of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team along with Lance Armstrong in 1998, 1999 and 2000.-Cycling career:...
during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a Texas company attempting to withhold a $5-million bonus; this was settled out of court with SCA paying Armstrong and Tailwind Sports $7.5 million, to cover the $5-million bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. The testimony stated "And so the doctor asked him a few questions, not many, and then one of the questions he asked was... have you ever used any performance-enhancing drugs? And Lance said yes. And the doctor asked, what were they? And Lance said, growth hormone, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone." Armstrong suggested Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment which included steroids and EPO that are taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell-destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy. The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols, or his medical history. According to Greg LeMond (who has been embroiled with his own disputes with Armstrong), he (LeMond) had a recorded conversation, the transcript of which was reviewed by National Public Radio, with Stephanie McIlvain (Armstrong's contact at Oakley Inc.) in which she said of Armstrong's alleged admission 'You know, I was in that room. I heard it.' However, McIlvain has contradicted LeMond allegations on the issue and denied under oath that the incident in question ever occurred in her sworn testimony.
- In July 2006, the Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case. The report cited evidence at the trial including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness. From the LA Times article: "The results, Australian researcher Michael Ashenden testified in Dallas, show Armstrong's levels rising and falling, consistent with a series of injections during the Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told arbitrators the results painted a "compelling picture" that the world's most famous cyclist "used EPO in the '99 Tour." Ashenden's finding were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the LNDD test results. The LA Times article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy and instant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
conversation between Andreu and Jonathan VaughtersJonathan Vaughters is an American former professional racing cyclist and current manager of the professional cycling team.- Racing career :...
regarding blood-doping in the peloton. Vaughters signed a statement disavowing the comments and stating he had: "no personal knowledge that any team in the Tour de France, including Armstrong's Discovery team in 2005, engaged in any prohibited conduct whatsoever." Andreu signed a statement affirming the conversation took place as indicated on the instant messaging logs submitted to the court. The SCA trial was settled out of court, and the LA Times reported: "Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless." The L.A. Times article provides a review of the disputed positive EPO test, allegations and sworn testimony against Armstrong, but notes that: "They are filled with conflicting testimony, hearsay and circumstantial evidence admissible in arbitration hearings but questionable in more formal legal proceedings."
- On May 20, 2010, former U.S. Postal teammate Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis is an American retired cyclist who after initially being awarded victory in the 2006 Tour de France was stripped of his title for a doping offense. He was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing and time-trialing, and is also known to be a very fast descender.Landis...
accused Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003, and claimed that U.S. Postal team director Johan Bruyneel had bribed former UCIUCI usually refers to the Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling.UCI may also refer to:* United Cinemas International* United Kennel Clubs International...
president Hein VerbruggenHein Verbruggen , is a Dutch honorary member of the International Olympic Committee since 2008. Previously, he was a member of the IOC and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008...
to keep quiet about a positive Armstrong test in 2002. Landis admitted there was no documentation that supports these claims. However, in July 2010 the president of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, revealed that Armstrong made two donations to the UCI: $25,000 in 2002, used by the juniors anti-doping program, and $100,000 in 2005, to buy a blood testing machine, and documentation of those payments does exist. Landis also maintains that he witnessed Armstrong receiving multiple blood transfusions, and dispensing testosterone patches to his teammates on the United States Postal Service Team. On May 25, 2010, The International Cycling Union disputed comments from Floyd Landis, "Due to the controversy following the statements made by Floyd Landis, the International Cycling Union wishes to stress that none of the tests revealed the presence of EPO in the samples taken from riders at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland," the UCI said in a statement. "The UCI has all the documentation to prove this fact." According to ESPN, "Landis claimed that Armstrong tested positive while winning in 2002, a timeline Armstrong himself said left him 'confused,' because he did not compete in the event in 2002."
- On May 19, 2011, former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton
Tyler Hamilton is a former American professional road bicycle racer and former Olympic gold medalist. Hamilton became a professional cyclist in 1995, and during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tour de France was a teammate of Lance Armstrong who won those races.Hamilton appeared at the 2000 Summer...
told CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
that he and Armstrong had together taken EPO before and during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours de France. Armstrong's attorney, Mark Fabiani, responded that Hamilton was lying. The accompanying 60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
investigation alleges that two other former Armstrong teammates, Frankie AndreuFrankie Andreu is a former professional cyclist whose career highlights include riding as team captain of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team along with Lance Armstrong in 1998, 1999 and 2000.-Cycling career:...
and George HincapieGeorge Hincapié Garcés is an American professional road bicycle racer currently riding for UCI ProTeam . Hincapie resides in Greenville, South Carolina...
, have told federal investigators that they witnessed Armstrong taking banned substances, including EPO, or supplied Armstrong with such substances. Fabiani stated in response that, "We have no way of knowing what happened in the grand jury and so can't comment on these anonymously sourced reports." Hamilton further claimed that Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
; 60 Minutes reported that the Union Cycliste InternationaleUnion Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
intervened to conceal those test results, and that donations from Armstrong totaling US$125,000 may have played into said actions. Martial Saugy, chief of the Swiss anti-doping agency, later confirmed that they found four urine samples suspicious of EPO use at the 2001 race, but said there was no "positive test" and claimed to not know whether the suspicious results belonged to Armstrong. As a result, Armstrong's lawyers demanded an apology from 60 Minutes. Instead of apologizing, CBS News chairman Jeff FagerJeff Fager is the Chairman of CBS News and the Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, the hour-long CBS news magazine created in 1968.-Career:...
said CBS News stands by its report as "truthful, accurate and fair.", and added that the suspicious tests which Saugy confirmed to exist have been linked to Armstrong "by a number of international officials".
Handling of urine tests
In October 2005, in response to calls from the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for an independent investigation, the UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory, LNDD. Vrijman was head of the Dutch anti-doping agency for ten years; since then he has worked as a defense attorney defending high-profile athletes against doping charges. Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing. The report said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest they "constitute evidence of anything." The recommendation of the commission's report was no disciplinary action against any rider on the basis of LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority. The WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.". The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured
Dick PoundRichard William Duncan Pound, is a Canadian lawyer, partner of the law firm Stikeman Elliott, the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency based in Montreal, and former chancellor of McGill University...
, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong.
In April 2009, Dr. Michael Ashenden said that "the LNDD absolutely had no way of knowing athlete identity from the sample they're given. They have a number on them, but that's never linked to an athlete's name. The only group that had both the number and the athlete's name is the federation, in this case it was the UCI." He added "There was only two conceivable ways that synthetic
EPOErythropoietin, or its alternatives erythropoetin or erthropoyetin or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production...
could've gotten into those samples. One, is that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the '99 Tour. The other way it could've got in the urine was if, as Lance Armstrong seems to believe, the laboratory spiked those samples. Now, that's an extraordinary claim, and there's never ever been any evidence the laboratory has ever spiked an athlete's sample, even during the Cold War, where you would've thought there was a real political motive to frame an athlete from a different country. There's never been any suggestion that it happened."
Dr. Michael Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report "According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same (chronological) order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage." The Vrijman report also says "Le Monde of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France".
Armstrong's work outside of cycling
In 1997, Armstrong founded the
Lance Armstrong FoundationThe Lance Armstrong Foundation is a United States 501 nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer, founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. The LAF states that its mission is 'to inspire and empower' cancer sufferers and their families...
, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation has become one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research in the U.S., raising more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets During his original retirement beginning after the 2005 season, he also maintained other interests. He was the
pace car driver of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the
2006 Indianapolis 500The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the race by passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway, about 450 feet from the finish line...
.
In 2007, Armstrong with
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
,
Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
,
Warrick DunnWarrick De'Mon Dunn is a former American football running back, and current minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football at Florida State...
,
Jeff GordonJeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
,
Mia HammMariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...
,
Tony HawkAnthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
,
Andrea JaegerAndrea Jaeger is a former World No. 2 professional tennis player from the United States whose brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger reached the singles final of Wimbledon in 1983 and the French Open in 1982...
,
Jackie Joyner-KerseeJacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...
,
Mario LemieuxMario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
,
Alonzo MourningAlonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....
, and
Cal Ripken, Jr.Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
founded
Athletes for Hopeis a nonprofit organization that works to educate professional athletes about philanthropy, connect them with charitable causes, recognize these efforts and inspire others to get involved in the community. AFH emphasizes that its focus is on the athlete's time and not their money.The CEO of...
, a charity which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires non-athletes to volunteer and support the community. In 2008 and 2009 he appeared on the PBS Kids show Arthur as himself. In these two appearances he taught biking skills and helped spread cancer awareness, respectively.
In August 2009, Armstrong headlined the inaugural charity ride "Pelotonia" in Columbus, Ohio, riding over 100 miles on Saturday with the large group of cyclists. He personally addressed the riders the Friday evening before the two-day ride and helped the ride raise millions for cancer research.
Marathon
Armstrong ran the 2006
New York City MarathonThe New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...
with friends Robert McElligott and Lewis Miles. With Nike, he assembled a pace team of
Alberto SalazarAlberto Salazar is an American marathon runner of the 1980s. Born in Cuba, Salazar emigrated to the United States with his family. They ultimately moved to Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school...
, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and
Hicham El GuerroujHicham El Guerrouj "King of the Mile" is a Moroccan former middle distance runner...
to help him reach 3 hours. He struggled with
shin splintsShin splints or medial tibial stress syndrome refers to pain along or just behind the shins with sports that apply extreme pressure to the legs, such as gymnastics...
and was on pace for a little above 3 hours but pushed through the last 5 miles (8 km) to 2h 59m 36s, finishing 856th. He said the race was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. "For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done. I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness." The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event. This camera, according to Armstrong, pushed him to continue through points in which he would have normally "stopped and stretched". He also helped raise $600,000 for his
LiveStrongLivestrong can refer to the following items evolving from the Lance Armstrong Foundation:*Livestrong wristband, a yellow wristband*Livestrong Sporting Park, soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kansas...
campaign during the run.
Armstrong ran the 2007 NYC Marathon in 2h 46m 43s finishing 232nd. On April 21, 2008, he ran the
Boston MarathonThe Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
in 2h 50m 58s, finishing in the top 500.
Politics
In the New York Times, teammate
George HincapieGeorge Hincapié Garcés is an American professional road bicycle racer currently riding for UCI ProTeam . Hincapie resides in Greenville, South Carolina...
hinted at Armstrong's running for
Governor of TexasThe governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
after cycling. In the July 2005 issue of
OutsideOutside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
, Armstrong hinted at running for governor, although "not in '06". Armstrong and former president
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, a Republican and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. Bush called Armstrong in France to congratulate him after his 2005 victory, and in August 2005,
The TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported the President had invited Armstrong to his
Prairie Chapel RanchPrairie Chapel Ranch is a 1,583 acre ranch in unincorporated McLennan County, Texas, located seven miles northwest of Crawford. The property was acquired by President George W...
to go
mountain bikingMountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
. In a 2003 interview with
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Armstrong said: "He's a personal friend, but we've all got the right not to agree with our friends."
In August 2005, Armstrong hinted he had changed his mind about politics. In an interview with
Charlie RoseCharles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
on
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the commitment that led him to retire from cycling. Again, on August 16, 2005, Armstrong told a local Austin
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate that he was no longer considering politics:
"The biggest problem with politics or running for the governor—the governor's race here in Austin or in Texas—is that it would mimic exactly what I've done: a ton of stress and a ton of time away from my kids. Why would I want to go from pro cycling, which is stressful and a lot of time away, straight into politics?"
He does intend to be involved in politics as an activist for change in cancer policies, however. In a May 2006 interview with
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, Armstrong is quoted: "I need to run for one office, the presidency of the Cancer Fighters' Union of the World." Sports Illustrated quoted Armstrong that he fears halving his influence with legislators if he chose one side in politics. His foundation lobbies on behalf of cancer patients before
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
Filmography
- The Road to Paris (himself, 2000 documentary)
- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, commonly referred to as simply DodgeBall, is a 2004 American sports comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox and Red Hour Productions, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and Rip Torn...
(2004) (himself)
- You, Me and Dupree
You, Me and Dupree is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, written by Mike LeSieur, and produced by Mary Parent, Scott Stuber, and Owen Wilson....
(2006)
- Arthur
Arthur is an American/Canadian animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group and WGBH for the Public Broadcasting Service...
(himself – voice) 2 episodes
- The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
Accolades
- United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
(USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)
- Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Male Athlete of the YearThe first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete...
(2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
International Trophy (2000)
- Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
Sportsman of the Year (2003)
- Prince of Asturias Award in Sports (2000)
- Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport (2003)
- Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year
-List of winners and nominees:-Trivia:-See also:*Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year*L'Équipe Champion of Champions Award*Athlete of the Year-References:...
(2003)
- Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year
List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Comeback of the Year.-List of winners and nominees:-See also:*Sportsman of the Year*Sportswoman of the Year*Team of the Year*Breakthrough of the Year...
(2000)
- Trophee de L'Academie des Sport [France] (2004)
- Vélo d'Or
The "" is a cycle racing award, created in 1992 by the French cycling magazine Vélo Magazine. Vélo d'or is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual award in cycling. The award is given annually to the rider considered to have performed the best over the year.Lance Armstrong holds the...
Award by Velo Magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
- Mendrisio d'Or Award in Switzerland (1999)
- Premio Coppi-Bici d'Oro Trophy by the Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions...
foundation in conjunction with La Gazzetta dello SportLa Gazzetta dello Sport is an Italian newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. It was first published on April 3, 1896, allowing it to cover the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens...
(1999, 2000)
- Marca Legend Award by Marca, a Spanish sports daily in Madrid (2004)
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality
The BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year is an award presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. The award is presented to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in that year. The award is decided by a...
Award (2003)
- ESPY Award
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
for Best Male Athlete (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- ESPY Award for GMC Professional Grade Play Award (2005)
- ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete (2000)
- ESPN/Intersport's ARETE Award for Courage in Sport (Professional Division) (1999)
- ABC
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Wide World of SportsABC's Wide World of Sports is a sports anthology series on American television that ran from 1961 to 1998 and was originally hosted by Jim McKay. The title continued to be used for general sports programs until 2006...
Athlete of the Year (1999)
- Favorite Athlete award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids Choice Awards, is an annual awards show that airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel, which airs live and is usually held and telecast live on a...
(2006The 19th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards were held on April 1, 2006 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. They were hosted by actor/musician Jack Black. Chris Brown, Bow Wow, and Pink performed songs.The nominations were released on February 7, 2006...
)
- Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
- Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine's Sportsman of the YearSince its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
(2002)
- VeloNews magazine's International Cyclist of the Year (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
- VeloNews magazine's North American Male Cyclist of the Year (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005)
- William Hill Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...
: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to LifeIt's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life is a 2000 autobiographical book by cyclist Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins.The book was written shortly after Armstrong had won the 1999 Tour de France: he went on to win it six further times in successive years, establishing a record...
(2000)
- Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
: World Number 1 RankedThe UCI Road World Rankings was a system of ranking road bicycle racers based upon the results in all UCI-sanctioned races over a twelve month period. The world rankings were first instituted by the UCI in 1984....
Elite Men's Cyclist (1996)
- Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988)
- Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006)
- An asteroid, 1994 JE9 was named 12373 Lancearmstrong
The asteroid 12373 Lancearmstrong is a Main belt asteroid discovered by Charles de Saint-Aignan at Lowell Observatory, examining films taken at Palomar.-Citation from the MPCs:Lance Armstrong is an American cyclist and cancer survivor...
in honor of him.
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
(2006)
- Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award presented by the United States Sports Academy
The United States Sports Academy is an accredited, sport-specific institution located in Daphne, Alabama. It offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs as well as certificate programs. Founded in 1972, the Academy has provided its sports programs to more than 60 countries around the...
(1999)
Further reading
- Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life is a 2000 autobiographical book by cyclist Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins.The book was written shortly after Armstrong had won the 1999 Tour de France: he went on to win it six further times in successive years, establishing a record...
(ISBN 0-425-17961-3), Putnam 2000. Armstrong's own account of his battle with cancer and subsequent triumphant return to bike racing.
- Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins: Every Second Counts
Every Second Counts is a 2003 autobiographical book by cyclist Lance Armstrong written in collaboration with sports writer and columnist Sally Jenkins. It is a follow-up to Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life which as well was written with Sally Jenkins...
(ISBN 0-385-50871-9), Broadway Books 2003. Armstrong's account of his life after his first four Tour triumphs.
- Linda Armstrong Kelly, Joni Rodgers: No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me (ISBN 0-7679-1855-X), Broadway Books 2002. Armstrong's mother's account of raising a world class athlete and overcoming adversity.
- Daniel Coyle: Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour De France (ISBN 0-06-073497-3), Harper Collins 2005. Former writer for Outside magazine documents Armstrong's road to the Tour in 2004, teaching us about both Armstrong and the Tour.
- Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: L. A. Confidentiel
L. A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong is a book by sports journalists David Walsh, of The Sunday Times, and Pierre Ballester....
: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong (ISBN 2-84675-130-7), La Martinière . Various circumstantial evidence pointing to Armstrong doping.
- Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: L.A. Officiel (ISBN 2-84675-204-4), La Martinière . Why Armstrong gave up trial against the authors after publication of L.A. Confidentiel.
- Sharon Cook, Graciela Sholander: Dream It Do It: Inspiring Stories of Dreams Come True (ISBN 1-884587-30-5), Planning/Communications 2004. Chapter 4 details Armstrong's efforts to return to championship form following his cancer treatment.
- John Wilcockson: 23 Days in July (ISBN 0-7195-6717-3), John Murray 2004. An account of how Armstrong won his 6th Tour title in 2004.
- John Wilcockson: The 2005 Tour De France: The Last Chapter of the Armstrong Era (ISBN 1-931382-68-9), Velo Press 2005. The story behind Armstrong's final Tour de France before his first retirement and his 7th consecutive victory.
- John Wilcokson: LANCE: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion (ISBN 9780306815874), Da Capo Press 2009. The story of what drives the 7-time Tour de France champion through the words of Armstrong's family, friends, rivals, and Armstrong himself. http://www.lancearmstrongbook.com/
External links