Lance Edward Armstrong shortly named as Lance Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who became regarded as a sports icon for his seven consecutive Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005, the most in the event’s history. His reputation would be tarnished by a doping scandal that led to him being disqualified from his titles. He began his career as a professional cyclist with the Motorola team in 1992 where he had notable success between 1993 and 1996 with the World Championship in 1993, the Clasica de San Sebastian in 1995, Tour DuPont in 1995 and 1996, and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including stage 8 of the 1993 Tour de France and stage 18 of the 1995 Tour de France. retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009, finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France later that year. Between 2010 and 2011, he raced with Team Radio Shack, the UCI ProTeam he helped found. He retired for the second time in 2011. In 2012, a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career. As a result, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. In April 2018, he settled a civil lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice and agreed to pay US$5 million to the U.S. government after whistleblower proceedings were commenced by Floyd Landis, a former team member.
Lance Armstrong says he doesn’t know if doping caused his cancer
One week after the finale of ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” the network decided to follow up the smash-hit documentary with a look at a figure much, much more controversial than Michael Jordan: disgraced cycling great Lance Armstrong. In Part 1 of “LANCE” aired on Sunday, ESPN took a look at the early life of Armstrong, his rise through the cycling world, and his cancer diagnosis. The latter subject led to a very sensitive question: Was Armstrong’s testicular cancer a product of his admitted doping?. Lance answer I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t want to say no because I don’t think that’s right either. I don’t know if it’s yes or no, but I certainly wouldn’t say no. The only thing I will tell you is the only time in my life that I ever did growth hormone was the 1996 season. So just in my head, I’m like “growth … growing … hormones and cells.” If anything good needs to be grown, it does. But wouldn’t it also make sense if anything bad is there, that it too would grow?” The timeline of Armstrong’s cancer and doping goes like this. By his own admission in the early minutes of the documentary, Armstrong began doping when he was 21, which would have been around 1992. Armstrong revealed his cancer diagnosis in October 1996.
Source: @theconversation.com
Famous For
- Being an American former professional road racing cyclist.
- Being regarded as a sports icon for his seven consecutive Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005, the most in the event’s history.
What is the birthplace of Lance Armstrong?
Lance Armstrong was born with the real name/birth name of Lance Edward Armstrong on 18th September 1971. He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His birthplace is in Plano, Texas, the USA. His nationality is American and his ethnicity is Mixed. He is of Canadian, Dutch, and Norwegian descent. His race is White. He was born to his parents; Linda Gayle and Eddie Charles Gunderson. His parents divorced when he was two and his mother remarried Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance in the year 1974. As of 2019, he celebrated his 48th birthday. There is no information about his siblings, education.
How Lance Armstrong pursue his career?
- He started his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle at the age of 12.
- He stopped swimming-only races after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon, called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he won at the age of 13.
- In the 1987-1988 Tri-Fed/Texas (“Tri-Fed” was the former name of USA Triathlon), he was ranked the number-one triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was Chann McRae, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion.
- He then turned professional in 1992 with the Motorola Cycling Team where he won 10 one-day events and stage races in the year 1993 but his crowning glory was the victory in the World Road Race Championship held in Norway.
- He also touched great heights over the next few years, winning the Thrift Drug Classic in 1994, the Clasica de San Sebastian in 1995, and Tour DuPont in 1995 and 1996, among other victories.
- In the year 1996, he became the first American to win the La Fleche Wallonne and finished 6th in the time trial in the 1996 Olympic Games.
- In the year 1996, the rising sports star was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer.
- He underwent extensive treatment and was declared cancer-free in the year1997.
- He then returned to his passion, cycling, and made his comeback in the year 1998 when he finished fourth in the Vuelta a Espana.
- In July 1999, he won the Tour de France, the sport’s most prestigious race, becoming the second American to do so.
- During this race, allegations of him using drugs first surfaced.
- He dismissed the allegations and went on to win six more Tour de France until 2005.
- In the yar 2000, he penned his autobiography ‘It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life’.
- The book covers the events in his life from childhood to the 1999 Tour de France and the birth of his first child.
- A follow-up titled ‘Every Second Counts’ was released in the year 2003.
- He retired from racing in the year 2005 but returned to competitive racing in the year 2009, finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France later that year.
- He again retired for the second time in the year 2011.
- In November 2012, Times Newspapers republished all of Walsh’s articles as well as the original “LA Confidential” article by Alan English in Lanced: The shaming of Lance Armstrong.
- The Times is said to be considering taking action to recoup money from Armstrong in relation to the settlement and court costs.
- In December 2012 The Sunday Times filed suit against Armstrong for $1.5 million.
- In August 2013, Armstrong and The Sunday Times reached an undisclosed settlement.
- Based on the blood samples from the years 2009 to 2010, he was charged with using performance-enhancing drugs, by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, in June 2012.
- He did not contest the charges and received a lifetime ban from competing in all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
- After years of public denials, in a January 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he reversed course and admitted to doping.
- He fell from glory and was stripped of all of his achievements after 1998, including his seven Tour de France titles and also his Olympic Bronze Medal, which he won at the 2000 Sydney Games, by the International Olympic Committee, in 2013.
Source: @bostonmagazine.com
Titles / Career Achievements of Lance Armstrong
Major results
1991
- 1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1992
- 1st Overall Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic
1st Stage 2
- 1st Stage 6 Settimana Bergamasca
- 1st Stage 4a Vuelta a Galicia
- 1st Stage 2 Trittico Premondiale
- 1st First Union Grand Prix
- 2nd Zuri-Metzgete
1993
- 1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
- 1st Road race, National Road Championships
- 1st Stage 8 Tour de France
- 1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Prologue & Stage 1
- 1st Overall Tour of America
- 1st Trofeo Laigueglia
- 1st Thrift Drug Classic
- 2nd Overall Tour du Pont
1st Stage 5
- 3rd Overall Tour of Sweden
1st Stage 3
1994
- 1st Thrift Drug Classic
- 1st Stage 7 Tour du Pont
- 2nd Liege-Bastogne-Liege
- 2nd Clasica de San Sebastian
1995
- 1st Stage 18 Tour de France
- 1st Clasica de San Sebastian
- 1st Stage 5 Paris-Nice
- 1st Overall Tour du Pont
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 4, 5 & 9
- 1st Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic
1st Stage 4
1996
1st Stages 2, 3b, 5, 6 & 12
- 1st La Fleche Wallonne
- 2nd Overall Paris-Nice
- 2nd Liege-Bastogne-Liege
1998
- 1st Overall Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
- 1st Cascade Cycling Classic
- 1st Sprint 56K Criterium
Triathlon & Ironman
2011
- 5th XTERRA USA Championships
2012
- 1st Ironman 70.3 Hawaii
- 1st Ironman 70.3 Florida
- 3rd Ironman 70.3 St. Croix
- 7th Ironman 70.3 Texas
- 2nd Ironman 70.3 Panama
- 2nd Power of Four Mountain Bike Race
Awards of Lance Armstrong
- 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)
- Mendrisio d’Or Award in Switzerland (1999)
- Premio Coppi-Bici d’Or 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)
- ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete (2000)
- ESPN/Intersport’s ARETE Award for Courage in Sport (Professional Division) (1999)
- Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)
- Triathlon magazine’s Rookie of the Year (1988)
- Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards (2001)
- BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award (2003)
- Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year Winner (2003)
- Vélo d’Or Award by Velo magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
What is the Net Worth of Lance Armstrong?
Lance Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He became regarded as a sports icon for his seven consecutive Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005, the most in the event’s history. As per sources, the net worth of Lance Armstrong is estimated to have $50 Million as of 2020. At the peak of his career, the Lance Armstrong net worth was reportedly around $125 million, as the former road racing cyclist earned over $20 million a year from endorsements and prize money. However, by pleading his guilt over the Lance Armstrong doping allegations in 2013, the two-time Tour de France champion had to return all of the medals he won from 1998 onwards, losing major sponsorship deals, costing him a reported $75 million in the process. The Lance Armstrong net worth was boosted due to a $100,000 Uber investment the disgraced cycling great made in 2009. His major sponsors, including Nike, Oakley, Trek, and Anheuser Busch all left. He owns homes in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado, as well as a ranch in the Texas Hill Country. His source of income is from a race cyclist career. At present, he is living a luxurious lifestyle from his earnings.
Who is Lance Armstrong’s Wife?
Source: @usmagazine.com
Lance Armstrong is a married man. On 1st May 1998, he married Kristin Richard whom he met in June 1997. The couple went on to have three children. The pregnancies were made possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, before chemotherapy and surgery. At Armstrong’s request, his children flew to Paris for the Tour de France podium ceremony in 2005, where his son Luke helped his father hoist the trophy, while his daughters (in yellow dresses) held the stuffed lion mascot and bouquet of yellow flowers. He divorced Kristin in the year 2003. He then began dating singer-songwriter, Sheryl Crow. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. After that, he began dating Anna Hansen after meeting through Armstrong’s charity work in July 2008. In December 2008, Armstrong announced that Hansen was pregnant with the couple’s first child. Although it was believed that Armstrong could no longer father children, due to having undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer, this child was conceived naturally. He announced the birth of his fourth child via Twitter, just as he would do for his fifth child. At present, the duo is living a happy life. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay.
How tall is Lance Armstrong?
Lance Armstrong is a very handsome person with an athletic body build. He has got a tall height of 1.77 m or 5 ft 9.5 in. His weight consists of 75 Kg. His other body measurements such as shoe size, dress size, chest size and more are unknown. Overall, he has got a healthy body with a charming smile attracting a lot of people towards him.
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