Lance Armstrong

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Lance Armstrong

Image:NIH-lancearm2.jpg Armstrong speaking at the NIH
Personal information
Full name	Lance Edward Armstrong
Nickname	Mellow Johnny (Texan for Maillot Jaune)
Date of birth	September 18 1971 (age 36)
Country	United States
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	1993: 75 kg (165 lb); 1999: 79 kg (174 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Rider type	All-rounder
Amateur team(s)
1990-1991 1991	Subaru-Montgomery US National Team
Professional team(s)
1992-1996 1997 1998-2005	Motorola Cofidis U.S. Postal / Discovery Channel
Major wins
Tour de France (1999-2005), 22 stages Image:Arc en ciel.png World Cycling Champion (1993) US National Cycling Champion (1993) Clásica de San Sebastián (1995) La Flèche Wallonne (1996)
Infobox last updated on:
March 28, 2006

Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France—cycling's most prestigious race—seven consecutive times, from 1999 to 2005. In doing so, he beat the previous records of five wins by Miguel Indurain (consecutive) and Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil, (all non consecutive). He accomplished this after undergoing brain and testicular surgery, and extensive chemotherapy, to treat testicular cancer that metastasized to his brain and lungs in 1996. Doping allegations dogged Armstrong throughout his career, but he has consistently denied ever taking performance enhancing substances.

In 1999, he was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong retired from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France.

Armstrong's athletic success and dramatic recovery from cancer inspired him to commemorate his accomplishments, with Nike, through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a charity founded in 1997. The foundation's yellow rubber "Livestrong" wristbands, first launched in 2004, have been a major success, netting the foundation tens of millions of dollars in the fight against cancer, while helping Armstrong become a major player in the nonprofit sector.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early career 1.2 Cancer 1.3 Tour de France success 2 Reasons for success 2.1 Racing Habits 2.2 Training methodology and preparation 2.3 Coaching 2.4 Riding style 2.5 Physical attributes 2.6 Strength of his team 2.7 Support of broader team 3 Allegations of drug use 3.1 Specific allegations 3.2 Investigation 4 Family and personal life 5 Appearances in Media 6 Post-cycling career 6.1 Marathon 7 Politics 8 Teams and victories 8.1 Major results 8.2 Amateur cycling and triathlon years 9 Accolades 10 Personal statistics 11 Quotes 12 Footnotes 13 Further reading 14 External links

Career

Early career

Armstrong began his sporting career as a triathlete competing and winning in adult competitions from age 15. In the 1987-1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19 & under age group; second place was Chann McRae, who later became a US Postal Service Cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO National Champion. Armstrong's point total for the 1987 season was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16 years old, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became the national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at age 18 and 19, respectively.

It soon became clear that his greatest talent was as a bicycle racer after competing as a cycling amateur, winning the U.S. amateur championship in 1991 and finishing 14th in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

In 1993, Armstrong finished the year ranked number one by capturing 10 one-day events and stage races, including becoming the youngest rider to win the world road race championship, his first stage win at the Tour de France, and collecting the Thrift Drug "Triple Crown of Cycling", which included three separate races: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO National Championship in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to any rider winning all 3 races, which had never been done. At the CoreStates USPRO Championship race, on the final lap circuit, he sat up on his bicycle, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.

Cancer

On October 2, 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three nonseminomatous testicular cancer that had grown, spreading to his lungs, abdomen, and brain. Armstrong chose to undergo a more dangerous chemotherapy because, if survived, it would allow him to resume his career.^{[citation needed]} His doctors told him that he had less than a 50% chance of living. After his recovery, one of his doctors told him that his actual odds of living had been considered to be smaller, around 3%, and that he had been given the estimate primarily to give him hope. Three years later, after much recuperation and the loss of his right testicle, he went on to win his first Tour de France title.

Tour de France success

Before his illness, Armstrong had won several Tour de France stages. In 1993, he won the 8th stage of the Tour, and in 1995, he took stage 18 in honor of teammate Fabio Casartelli who crashed and died on stage 15.

Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1999 with his first Tour de France win, which included 4 stage wins. He beat the second place rider, Alex Zülle, by a margin of 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and Marco Pantani (following drug misuse allegations) meant that Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names in cycling. Stage wins included the Prologue, stage 8, an individual time trial in Metz, an Alpine mountain stage win on stage 9, and the second individual time trial on stage 19.

In 2000, Ullrich and Pantani returned to challenge Armstrong. A race that began a six year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong ended in victory for Armstrong by a margin of 6 minutes 2 seconds over Ullrich. Armstrong took one stage win in the 2000 Tour by winning the second Individual time trial on stage 19.

In 2001, Armstrong again took top honors, beating Ullrich by 6 minutes, 44 seconds.

The familiar pattern returned in 2003, with Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich taking second place. 1 minute 1 second is all that separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the Team Time Trial on Stage 4, while Armstrong took stage 15, despite being knocked off his bike on the ascent to Luz Ardiden, the day's final climb, as a spectator caught his right handlebar, which knocked him to the ground. Ullrich waited for him, which brought Ullrich several Fair-play honors).^[1]

In 2004, Armstrong again beat a German cyclist into second place. However, this time it was Andreas Klöden, finishing 6 minutes 19 seconds behind the winner. Ullrich finished in fourth, a further 2 minutes 31 seconds behind. Armstrong won a personal best 5 individual stages, plus the team time trial. He became the first man since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up L'Alpe d'Huez was won in considerable style by Armstrong as he passed Ivan Basso on the way up the epic climb, despite setting out 2 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 meters 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 his final tour in 2005, completing his record breaking feat, Armstrong crossed the finishing line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his 7th consecutive Tour de France title, finishing 4 minutes 40 seconds ahead of Ivan Basso with Jan Ullrich occupying the 3rd space on the podium. He looked strong from the beginning of the tour, losing out on the Stage 1 time trial by only two seconds while passing his old rival, Jan Ullrich, on the road. His Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won one individual stage, the final individual time trial.

In addition to his 7 Tour de France wins, Armstrong has won 22 individual stages, 11 time trials, and his team has won the team time trial on 3 occasions.

Reasons for success

Many have discussed the reasons for Armstrong's success in winning seven Tours in a row. No single factor seems to be responsible, but rather a combination of the following:

Racing Habits

Armstrong, while popularizing the tour greatly, raced very infrequently, while training more, and specifically for the tour, unlike Merckx, Hinault, Indurian etc who raced year round. Armstrong certainly deserves accolades for his accomplishments, but this fact informs the story of his success as a whole because cyclists of the past prided themselves on competition in the world of cycling, not just the most famous of the races. In this way his racing habits and wins are indicative of a new era in cycling history.

Training methodology and preparation

Armstrong has clearly triumphed at least partly because he learned to apply the obsessive focus he developed fighting cancer, to making a career of winning the Tour de France. He would train in Spain for months leading up to the Tour de France and make frequent trips to France to fully analyze and ride key parts of the upcoming Tour de France course. Since he focused solely on the Tour de France and seldom competed in other major races, he was able to train 180 days per year for the 23 days of the Tour, a significantly greater training time than riders who compete in other races.

Coaching

Armstrong met former elite cyclist Chris Carmichael in 1990 and worked with him as his coach through all of his years at the Tour De France competitions.

The team's sports director, Belgian ex-cyclist Johan Bruyneel, was involved in all of Armstrong's victories.

Riding style

Armstrong has a high aerobic threshold and therefore can maintain a higher cadence (often 120 rpm) in a lower gear than his competitors, most noticeably in the time trials. This style is in direct contrast to previous champions (e.g. Jan Ullrich and Miguel Indurain) who used a high gear and brute strength to win time trials. It is believed that a high cadence results in less fatigue in the leg muscles than a lower cadence requiring more severe leg muscle contractions. Ultimately the cardiovascular system is worked to a greater extent with a high cadence than with a lower, more muscular cadence. Because the leg muscles are taxed less with a high cadence pedaling style, they recover faster, and the efforts can be sustained for longer periods of time. Armstrong dedicated a significant portion of his training to developing and maintaining a high cadence style.

Physical attributes

All top cyclists have excellent physical attributes. Armstrong is no exception, although in one way, he may be unusual even for an elite athlete. He is near but not at the top aerobically, having a VO₂ Max of 83.8 mL/kg/min — much higher than the average person (40-50) but not as high as that of some other elite cyclists, such as Miguel Indurain (88.0, although reports exist that Indurain tested at 92-94) or Greg LeMond (92.5).^[2] His heart is 30% larger than average; however, an enlarged heart is a common trait for many other athletes. He has a resting heart rate of 32-34 beats per minute with a max heart rate at 201 bpm.^[3] Armstrong's most unusual attribute may be his low lactate levels. During intense training, the levels of most racers range from 12 μL/kg to as much as 20 μL/kg; Armstrong is below 6 μL/kg. The result is that less lactic acid accumulates in Armstrong's system, therefore it is possible that he feels less fatigue from severe efforts, and this may contribute to his ability to sustain the same level of physical effort as other elite racers with less fatigue and faster recovery times. Some theorize that his high pedaling cadence is designed to take advantage of this low lactate level. In contrast, other cyclists — like Jan Ullrich — rely on their anaerobic capacity, pushing a larger gear at a lower rate. Further improvements in Armstrong's physical attributes and performance have been attributed to training-induced increases in his muscular efficiency indicating changes in muscle myosin type.^[4]

Strength of his team

Some have attributed Armstrong's success in recent years in part to his US Postal Service cycling team (in 2005, the Discovery Channel Team). Throughout his wins in the Tour de France, Lance slowly built up the strength of his team. In his first few Tour victories, his team was not considered exceptionally strong. Yet it is evident by the wins of his team in the Team Time Trial in his last three Tour de France victories that they were one of the most dominating teams in the Pro Tour Circuit. While the U.S. Postal Team competes in races worldwide, the riders were selected specifically to help Armstrong win the yellow jersey. However, the decisive moves in which he gained large leads over the competition involved Armstrong racing far ahead of his team, and Armstrong often fended off multiple attacks when his team faltered and he was isolated unexpectedly.

Support of broader team

Armstrong revolutionized the support behind his well-funded teams, asking his sponsors and equipment suppliers to contribute and act as one cohesive part of the team. For example, rather than having the bike frame, handlebars, and tires of a bicycle designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction with each other, his teams adopted a Formula 1-style relationship with sponsors and suppliers, taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, comprised of Trek, Nike, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek-owned company), Shimano, and Oakley, collaborated for a well-coordinated and technologically cutting-edge array of products. The approach has since become the standard in the professional cycling industry.

Allegations of drug use

The sport of professional cycling has a reputation for doping—the use of performance enhancing drugs—with prominent individuals and in some cases entire teams being disqualified. Armstrong has continually denied having used performance-enhancing drugs and has described himself as "the most tested athlete in the world".^[5] Throughout his career only one test showed indications of the presence of doping products: in 1999, a urine sample showed traces of corticosteroids, but the amount was not in the positive test range. He later produced a medical certificate showing he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance.^[6]

Specific allegations

• In 2004, sports reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh jointly published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs (L. A. Confidentiel - Les secrets de Lance Armstrong). It contains allegations by Armstrong's former masseuse Emma O'Reilly who claimed that Armstrong once asked her to dispose of used syringes and give him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms.^[6] Another key figure in the book, Steve Swart, claims that he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while they were members of the Motorola team, a claim since denied by other team members.^[7] 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 subsequently sued the newspaper for libel, which settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pretrial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect."^[8] The newspaper's lawyers issued the following 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 apologised for any such impression." (See also^[9] in The Guardian). Armstrong later dropped similar lawsuits in France.^[10]

• On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief^[11] 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 Androstenine while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain.^[12] While Androstenine is not on the list of banned drugs, the substances androstenedione and androstenediol are listed. However, 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.^[13] The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005, the terms of the agreement undisclosed.^[14]

• On August 23, 2005, L'Équipe, a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "The Armstrong Lie" that the cyclist had taken EPO during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France. This claim was based on an investigation in which they claimed to be able to match samples from the 1999 Tour that were used to hone the EPO test to Armstrong.^[15] The world governing body of cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), did not begin using a urine test for EPO until two years later, in 2001. 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."^[16]

• In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde reported claims made by Betsy and Frankie Andreu 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-based company that was attempting to withhold a $5-million bonus; this was eventually 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. Armstrong later issued a statement suggesting that Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment which included steroids and EPO that are routinely taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell-destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy.^[17] The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols,^[18] or his medical history, although according to Greg LeMond (who has been embroiled with his own disputes with Armstrong), there exists a recorded conversation in which Stephanie McIlvain, Armstrong's contact at Oakley Inc., said to Greg LeMond, "You know, I was in that room. I heard it."^[19] .

• In July 2006, the Los Angeles Times published an in-depth story on the allegations raised in the SCA case.^[20] The report cited evidence presented at the trial including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness.^[21] 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."^[22] 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 in-depth information on the testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate Steven Swart, Frankie Andreu and his wife Betsy, and Instant messaging conversation between Andreu and Jonathan Vaughters regarding blood-doping techniques in the peloton. [3] Vaughters later 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. [4]. The SCA trial was decided in favor of Armstrong, 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." [5] The LA Times article provides a comprehensive 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." [6]
• In September 2006, Frankie Andreu and another unnamed teammate were reported to have made recent statements that they used EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. This was the same tour, and the same drug, at issue in the controversy with the World Anti-Doping Agency. While both teammates are reported as saying they never saw Armstrong use EPO, Armstrong at once attacked the article, describing it as a "hatchet job." [7]

Investigation

In October 2005, UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory, LNDD. Vrijman was the 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.^[23] Vrijman's report "cleared" Armstrong because of improper handling and testing^[24] and said that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the LNDD may have "behaved in ways that are completely inconsistent with the rules and regulations of international anti-doping control testing," and may also have been against the law.^[25] The report said that 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."^[26] The recommendation of the commission's report was that no disciplinary action should be taken against any rider on the basis of the LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority.^[27] The WADA rejected these conclusions and is considering legal action^[28]

Family and personal life

Armstrong was born in Plano, Texas to Linda Gayle Mooneyham and Eddie Charles Gunderson; his mother re-married to Terry Keith Armstrong, who adopted him, in 1974.^[29] He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His father left his mother when Lance was two years old. Linda has been married and divorced four times. Armstrong met his first wife, Kristin Richard (Kik), in June 1997. They were married on May 8, 1998, and had three children: Luke, born in October 1999, and twins Isabelle and Grace, born in November 2001. The couple filed for divorce in September 2003. Kristin Armstrong cited several reasons for the dissolution of their marriage, including her husband's rapid rise to celebrity, his comeback from cancer, and their constant movement between multiple homes in different countries.

Armstrong began dating singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow some time in the autumn of 2003 and publicly revealed their relationship in January 2004. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. According to Men's Journal's July 2006 cover story, Armstrong had struggled to grapple with Crow's breast cancer diagnosis on February 20, 2006, but, after talking almost daily for a while, they have again gone separate ways. "I still think about her every day. Primarily now because of her health and hoping that everything works out. And I'm fully confident that it will," he said.

In the November 2006 issue of Details magazine, Armstrong addressed growing rumors that he and actor Matthew McConaughey were involved in a gay relationship. "We all have buds, we all take guy trips, but you take something very normal and put it in a magazine and people start talking," he stated. "It's like, either you sleep with everything that moves or you're gay!" [8]

Armstrong owns a house in Austin, Texas, as well as a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.^[30] Neighbors of his ranch property claim that Armstrong inadvertently polluted a local swimming hole when he was creating a dam on his ranch.^[30] One neighboring family says the problem has existed for two years and that "you only have so much patience".^[30] Armstrong says he is investigating the best way to fix the problem.^[30]

Appearances in Media

Lance Armstrong appeared as himself in the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and in the 2006 movie You, Me, and Dupree where he is depicted as Randy Dupree's role model.

Armstrong also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2005 with musical guest (his then fiancee) Sheryl Crow, making him the first (and so far only) cyclist to host SNL.

Post-cycling career

Since retirement, Armstrong has focused his efforts on the Lance Armstrong Foundation and other interests. He was the pace car driver of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the 2006 Indianapolis 500.

Armstrong remains physically active and continues to train for cycling and running events, such as the 2006 and 2007 New York City Marathon and the 2006 and 2007 RAGBRAI.

Marathon

After his retirement, he continued to stay fit and decided to run the New York City Marathon. Together with Nike, he assembled a pace team consisting of well known runners Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj to help him reach his goal time of 3 hours. He struggled with shin splints and was on pace for a little above 3 hours but pushed through the last 5 miles to come through at 2:59:36, finishing 856th. He commented that the race was extremely difficult, even when compared to competing in 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."^[31] The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event.^[32] This camera, according to Armstrong, pushed him to continue without stop through points in which he would have normally "stopped and stretched." He also helped raise $600,000 for his LiveStrong campaign during the run.

Lance Armstrong has stated that despite the difficulty he had in the 2006 race, he would like to do the race again in 2007.^[33] On February 12, 2007, Armstrong officially announced his decision to enter the November 4, 2007, ING New York City Marathon.^[34]

Politics

In an interview with the New York Times, teammate George Hincapie hinted at Armstrong possibly running for Governor of Texas after retiring from cycling. In the July 2005 issue of Outside magazine [9], Armstrong hinted at possibly running for governor, although "not in '06." By Texas political standards, he would almost certainly run as a Democrat, as he has described himself in the past as being "middle to left," "against mixing up State and Church," "not keen on guns," opposed to the Iraq War, and pro-choice with regards to abortion. U.S. Senator John Kerry, interviewed on OLN at the 2005 Tour de France, stated Armstrong has the potential to be successful in politics. "I think he'd be awesome, he'd be a force. I just hope it's for the right party," Kerry said on OLN. Armstrong and President George W. Bush, a Republican and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. President Bush called Armstrong in France after his 2005 victory to congratulate him, and in August 2005, The Times (Can this bike ride be Bush's tour de force?) reported the President had invited Armstrong to his Prairie Chapel Ranch to go mountain biking.

Armstrong was quoted by The Times in 2004 about his views on Iraq: "I don't like what the war has done to our country, to our economy. My kids will be paying for this war for some time to come. George Bush is a friend of mine and just as I say it to you, I'd say to him, 'Mr President, I'm not sure this war was such a good idea', and the good thing about him is he could take that."

Most recently however, beginning in August 2006, Armstrong has hinted that he has changed his mind about possibly entering politics. In an interview with Charlie Rose, that aired on PBS on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the type of time commitments that caused him to decide to retire from cycling. Again on August 16, 2005, Armstrong told a local Austin CBS affiliate [10] that he is 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?"

Even more recently, Armstrong has begun to clarify that he intends to be involved in politics as an activist for change in cancer policies. In a May 2006 interview with "Sports Illustrated", Armstrong is quoted as saying "I need to run for one office, the presidency of the Cancer Fighters' Union of the World." "Sports Illustrated" also quotes Armstrong as saying that he fears having his influence with legislators if he chooses one side in American partisan politics. His foundation is becoming more involved in lobbying on behalf of cancer patients before Congress, and Armstrong has said that he hopes to model his efforts in the area of cancer in much the same manner as U2's Bono has done on behalf of poverty, AIDS, and hunger.

Teams and victories

Major results

Accolades

• United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)
• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens International Trophy (2000)
• Reuters 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 (2003)
• Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year (2000)
• Trophee de L'Academie des Sport [France] (2004)
• Velo d'Or 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 foundation in conjunction with La Gazzetta dello Sport (1999, 2000)
• Marca Legend Award by Marca, a Spanish sports daily in Madrid (2004)
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award (2003)
• ESPY Award 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's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year (1999)
• Favorite Athlete award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (2006)
• Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)^[35]
• Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year (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: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (2000)^[36]
• Union Cycliste Internationale: World Number 1 Ranked Elite Men's Cyclist (1996)
• Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988)
• Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006)

Personal statistics

• Height: 5 feet, 9.75 inches (177 cm)
• Weight: 165 pounds (75 kg) in 1993, 174 pounds (79 kg) in 1999

Quotes

• On the Champs-Élysées podium for the last time, after winning his seventh tour: "Finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. But this is one hell of a race. This is a great sporting event and you should stand around and believe it. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it. So Vive le Tour. Forever."^[37]
• About the French 2006 FIFA World Cup team during his speech of gratitude at the ESPY Awards: "All their players tested positive... for being assholes."^[38]
• "Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place."^[39]
• "Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight."^[40]
• "A boo is a lot louder than a cheer, if you have 10 people cheering and one person booing all you hear is the booing."^[41]

Footnotes

Further reading

• Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (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 (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.
• Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: L.A. Confidentiel : Les secrets de Lance Armstrong (ISBN 2-84675-130-7), La Martinière (in French). Various circumstantial evidence pointing to Armstrong doping.
• Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: L.A. Officiel (ISBN 2-84675-204-4), La Martinière (in French). Why Lance 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 Lance Armstrong's efforts to return to championship form following his cancer treatment.
• John Wilcocksson : 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 Lance's last ever Tour de France and his 7th consecutive victory.

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