Lance Armstrong: Cycling
Lance Edward Armstrong (born September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas, U.S.) was a professional American cyclist and is one of the most influential athletes of the 21st century. He became a professional triathlete at the age of 16 and in 1989, the U.S. Olympic development team invited him to train as a cyclist. In 1992, Armstrong became a professional cyclist for the Motorola team. He also became part of the teams Cofidis, U.S. Postal, Discovery Channel, Astana and Team RadioShack. In 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer but recovered several years later. Lance Armstrong was stripped of the seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999 to 2005 due confirmed use performance-enhancing drugs.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Aside from Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France wins and Olympic medals (which were later stripped from him after he admitted drug taking), he also won One-day races and Classics including 1993 World Cycling Championship, 1993 U.S. National Cycling Championship, 1995 Clasica de San Sebastian and 1996 La Fleche Wallone. Armstrong also won a record-breaking Male Athlete of the Year from 2002 to 2005, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 2002 and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2008.
Why Was He So Good?
What made Lance Armstrong was his exceptional willpower to partake and win cycling events even after battling testicular cancer that almost ended his life. He seemed committed to his profession and helped in raising the popularity of cycling throughout the entire globe (though this became a farce after being outed as a drug cheat).
What You May Not Know
- He was considered the best cyclist in the world in 1996 and became part of the U.S. Cycling Team in the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games and during that year, he also battled with testicular cancer that had already spread to his brain, abdomen and lungs.
- Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation rose over $325 million for cancer research and patient assistance programs.
- Armstrong showed his true athletic talent when he won the Iron Kids Triathlon when he was only 13 years old. Three years later, he became a professional.
- Lance Armstrong was married to Kristin Richard, and they have three children. After Lance and Kristin divorced, Lance had a short engagement with singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. His current relationship is with Anna Hansen, with whom he has a son born in June 2009.
- After being stripped of many of his titles, one of the few that he held on to is the 1993 World championship he won as a 21 year old, there being no evidence that he was doping at that early stage of his career.
Related Pages
- About the Tour de France
- Hero Profile of Lance Armstrong
- POLL: Is Lance Armstrong still a hero?
- Other cyclist profiles
- More Cycling athletes
- About Cycling
- Athlete Database home
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