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Cancer survivor and former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins due to evidence of performance-enhancing drug use.
Who Is Lance Armstrong?
Born in 1971 in Texas, Lance Armstrong became a triathlete before turning to professional cycling. His career was halted by testicular cancer, but Armstrong returned to win a record seven consecutive Tour de France races beginning in 1999. Stripped of those titles in 2012 due to evidence of performance-enhancing drug use, Armstrong in 2013 admitted to doping throughout his cycling career, following years of denials.
Early Career
Born on September 18, 1971, in Plano, Texas, Lance Armstrong was raised by his mother, Linda, in the the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Armstrong was athletic from an early age. He began running and swimming at 10 years old, and took up competitive cycling and triathlons (which combine a 1,000-meter swim, 15-mile bike ride and three-mile run) at 13. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete—he was the national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990.
Soon after, Armstrong chose to focus on cycling, his strongest event as well as his favorite. During his senior year in high school, the U.S. Olympic development team invited him to train in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Armstrong left high school temporarily to do so, but later took private classes and received his high school diploma in 1989.
Who Is Lance Armstrong?
Born in 1971 in Texas, Lance Armstrong became a triathlete before turning to professional cycling. His career was halted by testicular cancer, but Armstrong returned to win a record seven consecutive Tour de France races beginning in 1999. Stripped of those titles in 2012 due to evidence of performance-enhancing drug use, Armstrong in 2013 admitted to doping throughout his cycling career, following years of denials.
Early Career
Born on September 18, 1971, in Plano, Texas, Lance Armstrong was raised by his mother, Linda, in the the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Armstrong was athletic from an early age. He began running and swimming at 10 years old, and took up competitive cycling and triathlons (which combine a 1,000-meter swim, 15-mile bike ride and three-mile run) at 13. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete—he was the national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990.
Soon after, Armstrong chose to focus on cycling, his strongest event as well as his favorite. During his senior year in high school, the U.S. Olympic development team invited him to train in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Armstrong left high school temporarily to do so, but later took private classes and received his high school diploma in 1989.
Lance Armstrong
Posted from biography.com
Birthday
Bicycles
Cancer
Athlete
Edited 6 y ago
Posted 6 y ago
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Remember his story very well here in Texas. Thanks and good morning Marty.
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Cycling's Greatest Fraud: Lance Armstrong National Geographic Documentary
Cycling's Greatest Fraud: Lance Armstrong National Geographic Documentary This Nat Geo special dissects the story of the science and scheming behind what's b...
Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for reminding us that September 18 is the anniversary of the birth of triathlete and professional cycler Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer before he went on to win seven Tour de France wins. After evidence of performance-enhancing drug use, he was stripped of all his our de France wins.
Image: Lance Armstrong.
Background from infoplease.com/lance-armstrong
"Lance Armstrong
Teams, career wins, timeline, and biography compiled by Erin Teare Martin
Once considered a hero and an inspiration, Lance Armstrong suffered a stunning fall from grace beginning in June 2012, when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charged him with using performance-enhancing drugs, stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles, and banned him from cycling for life. Six months later after a decade of denials, Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey that he began using testosterone, EPO, and blood transfusions in the mid-1990s and the illegal substances contributed to each of his Tour de France victories.
Armstrong shows early promise
At 13, Armstrong won the Kids Iron Triathlon, an event combining swimming, biking, and running. He later began entering triathlons for money, winning $20,000 when he was 15.
As a high school senior Armstrong qualified to train with the U.S. Olympic team. He later made cycling his sport. In 1993 he won ten titles and was called the “Golden Boy of American Cycling.” By 1996 Armstrong was the top-ranked cyclist in the world. But later that year, he was diagnosed with cancer and forced to undergo three operations and chemotherapy. The treatment was ultimately successful, and Armstrong became a powerful advocate for cancer research. He founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to promote cancer research and awareness, and wrote the best-selling book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.
In 1998, Armstrong married Kristin Richard of Austin, Tex. They have a son and twin daughters, but divorced in Dec. 2003. In 1996, he also returned to racing, winning the Tour de Luxembourg, the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfarht in Germany, and the Cascade Classic in Oregon. He took fourth place in both the World Championships in Holland and the Tour de Spain. He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
In 1999 Armstrong was the surprise winner of the grueling Tour de France, which winds through the Alps and Pyranees. He won the race again in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, becoming the first cyclist to take the Tour for six straight victories and after racing for a seventh win in 2005, he retired.
In 2004, Armstrong began a relationship with singer Sheryl Crow. He also helped launch the Livestrong campaign, a fundraiser supported by the sale of millions of yellow bracelets with proceeds going to cancer survivors through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Doping allegations surface
In February 2006, five months after their announced engagement, Armstrong and Sheryl Crow ended their relationship. A few weeks later, Crow announced she was being treated for breast cancer. Three months later, Armstong was cleared of doping allegations that stemmed from a drug test taken in 1999. The report stated that the retesting of the sample fell far below scientific standards. For the eighth year in a row, an American won the Tour de France in 2006. Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis won the tour as the leader of the Phonak team, but lost the title later on when he tested positive for synthetic testosterone. Armstrong's team Discovery did not fair well, with Jose Azevedo the highest placed rider in 19th place, more than 38 minutes behind Landis.
In June 2009, Armstrong reemerged to win the Nevada City Classic-one of the most difficult professional cycling races in the United States. A month later, Armstrong finishes third in the Tour de France and teammate Alberto Contador won the race. Less than two years later, in February 2011, Armstrong announced-again-that he's retiring from cycling amid continued allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
A career in tatters
In June 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charged Armstrong with using performance-enhancing drugs. The following month, Armstrong filed suit in federal court against the USADA. A judge dismissed the suit, and Armstrong refiled. Armstrong was given the option of going into arbitration over the case. In August, a federal judge dismissed Armstrong's suit. Armstrong refused to participate in arbitration and said he would not challenge the doping charges. The USADA banned Armstrong from cycling for life and stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles. The USADA released a lengthy report in October 2012 that detailed eyewitness accounts of Armstrong not only using performance-enhancing drugs, but also coercing teammates to do so. Armstrong finally came clean about his use of illegal drugs and banned substances in January 2013 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said he considered taking performancing-enhancing drugs a perfuctory part of the sport, saying it was like putting "air in my tires."
"People who believed in me and believed me have every right to feel betrayed," he said. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people."
Career Wins
1992
First Union Grand Prix
GP Sanson
Longsjo Classic (1 stage win)
Thrift Drug Classic
Tour de Ribera (4 stage wins)
1993
Thrift Drug Classic
Trofeo Laigueglia
8th stage of the Tour de France
USPro Championship
West Virginia Classic (2 stage wins)
World Road Championships
1994
Thrift Drug Classic
1995
Clasica San Sebastian
18th stage of the Tour de France
Tour du Pont (3 stage wins)
West Virginia Classic (1 stage win)
Stage 5 Paris Nice
1996
Tour du Pont (5 stage wins)
La Flí¨che Wallonne
1998
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
Tour de Luxembourg (1 stage win)
Cascade Classic
1999
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
Stage 4 Route du Sud
Stage 4 Circuit de la Sarthe (ITT)
2000
Tour de France (1 stage win)
GP des Nations
GP Eddy Merckx
Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
Bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics Individual Time Trial, Men
2001
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Tour de Suisse (2 stage wins)
2002
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
GP du Midi-Libre
2003
Tour de France (1 stage win and the Team Time Trial)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (Overall), Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
2004
Tour de France (5 stage wins and the Team Time Trial)
Tour de Georgia (2 stage wins)
Stage 5 Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon
Stage 4 Volta ao Algrave (ITT)
2005
Tour de France (1 stage win and the Team Time Trial)
2009
Nevada City Classic "
Cycling's Greatest Fraud: Lance Armstrong National Geographic Documentary
"This Nat Geo special dissects the story of the science and scheming behind what's been called "the most sophisticated and successful doping scheme in all of sports".
Piece together eyewitness testimonies and delve into the illicit science to discover how the USADA says the doping plot began and then mushroomed in its complexity.
With new interviews from key members of his inner circle, see how Armstrong went to great lengths to protect his secret and his legacy, by using all the powers at his command to silence and attack critics, while assuring the public that his blood was as clean as his public image.
But, in the end, his empire collapsed, as the scheming unravelled and the science finally caught up with Armstrong."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgRBxsW26vY
FYI Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless CW5 John M. MSG Andrew White SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke Sgt Arthur Caesar SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
Image: Lance Armstrong.
Background from infoplease.com/lance-armstrong
"Lance Armstrong
Teams, career wins, timeline, and biography compiled by Erin Teare Martin
Once considered a hero and an inspiration, Lance Armstrong suffered a stunning fall from grace beginning in June 2012, when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charged him with using performance-enhancing drugs, stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles, and banned him from cycling for life. Six months later after a decade of denials, Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey that he began using testosterone, EPO, and blood transfusions in the mid-1990s and the illegal substances contributed to each of his Tour de France victories.
Armstrong shows early promise
At 13, Armstrong won the Kids Iron Triathlon, an event combining swimming, biking, and running. He later began entering triathlons for money, winning $20,000 when he was 15.
As a high school senior Armstrong qualified to train with the U.S. Olympic team. He later made cycling his sport. In 1993 he won ten titles and was called the “Golden Boy of American Cycling.” By 1996 Armstrong was the top-ranked cyclist in the world. But later that year, he was diagnosed with cancer and forced to undergo three operations and chemotherapy. The treatment was ultimately successful, and Armstrong became a powerful advocate for cancer research. He founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to promote cancer research and awareness, and wrote the best-selling book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.
In 1998, Armstrong married Kristin Richard of Austin, Tex. They have a son and twin daughters, but divorced in Dec. 2003. In 1996, he also returned to racing, winning the Tour de Luxembourg, the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfarht in Germany, and the Cascade Classic in Oregon. He took fourth place in both the World Championships in Holland and the Tour de Spain. He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
In 1999 Armstrong was the surprise winner of the grueling Tour de France, which winds through the Alps and Pyranees. He won the race again in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, becoming the first cyclist to take the Tour for six straight victories and after racing for a seventh win in 2005, he retired.
In 2004, Armstrong began a relationship with singer Sheryl Crow. He also helped launch the Livestrong campaign, a fundraiser supported by the sale of millions of yellow bracelets with proceeds going to cancer survivors through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Doping allegations surface
In February 2006, five months after their announced engagement, Armstrong and Sheryl Crow ended their relationship. A few weeks later, Crow announced she was being treated for breast cancer. Three months later, Armstong was cleared of doping allegations that stemmed from a drug test taken in 1999. The report stated that the retesting of the sample fell far below scientific standards. For the eighth year in a row, an American won the Tour de France in 2006. Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis won the tour as the leader of the Phonak team, but lost the title later on when he tested positive for synthetic testosterone. Armstrong's team Discovery did not fair well, with Jose Azevedo the highest placed rider in 19th place, more than 38 minutes behind Landis.
In June 2009, Armstrong reemerged to win the Nevada City Classic-one of the most difficult professional cycling races in the United States. A month later, Armstrong finishes third in the Tour de France and teammate Alberto Contador won the race. Less than two years later, in February 2011, Armstrong announced-again-that he's retiring from cycling amid continued allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
A career in tatters
In June 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charged Armstrong with using performance-enhancing drugs. The following month, Armstrong filed suit in federal court against the USADA. A judge dismissed the suit, and Armstrong refiled. Armstrong was given the option of going into arbitration over the case. In August, a federal judge dismissed Armstrong's suit. Armstrong refused to participate in arbitration and said he would not challenge the doping charges. The USADA banned Armstrong from cycling for life and stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles. The USADA released a lengthy report in October 2012 that detailed eyewitness accounts of Armstrong not only using performance-enhancing drugs, but also coercing teammates to do so. Armstrong finally came clean about his use of illegal drugs and banned substances in January 2013 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said he considered taking performancing-enhancing drugs a perfuctory part of the sport, saying it was like putting "air in my tires."
"People who believed in me and believed me have every right to feel betrayed," he said. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people."
Career Wins
1992
First Union Grand Prix
GP Sanson
Longsjo Classic (1 stage win)
Thrift Drug Classic
Tour de Ribera (4 stage wins)
1993
Thrift Drug Classic
Trofeo Laigueglia
8th stage of the Tour de France
USPro Championship
West Virginia Classic (2 stage wins)
World Road Championships
1994
Thrift Drug Classic
1995
Clasica San Sebastian
18th stage of the Tour de France
Tour du Pont (3 stage wins)
West Virginia Classic (1 stage win)
Stage 5 Paris Nice
1996
Tour du Pont (5 stage wins)
La Flí¨che Wallonne
1998
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
Tour de Luxembourg (1 stage win)
Cascade Classic
1999
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
Stage 4 Route du Sud
Stage 4 Circuit de la Sarthe (ITT)
2000
Tour de France (1 stage win)
GP des Nations
GP Eddy Merckx
Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
Bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics Individual Time Trial, Men
2001
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Tour de Suisse (2 stage wins)
2002
Tour de France (4 stage wins)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
GP du Midi-Libre
2003
Tour de France (1 stage win and the Team Time Trial)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (Overall), Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (ITT)
2004
Tour de France (5 stage wins and the Team Time Trial)
Tour de Georgia (2 stage wins)
Stage 5 Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon
Stage 4 Volta ao Algrave (ITT)
2005
Tour de France (1 stage win and the Team Time Trial)
2009
Nevada City Classic "
Cycling's Greatest Fraud: Lance Armstrong National Geographic Documentary
"This Nat Geo special dissects the story of the science and scheming behind what's been called "the most sophisticated and successful doping scheme in all of sports".
Piece together eyewitness testimonies and delve into the illicit science to discover how the USADA says the doping plot began and then mushroomed in its complexity.
With new interviews from key members of his inner circle, see how Armstrong went to great lengths to protect his secret and his legacy, by using all the powers at his command to silence and attack critics, while assuring the public that his blood was as clean as his public image.
But, in the end, his empire collapsed, as the scheming unravelled and the science finally caught up with Armstrong."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgRBxsW26vY
FYI Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless CW5 John M. MSG Andrew White SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke Sgt Arthur Caesar SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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