Lance Edward Armstrong (''

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most commo ...

. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

seven consecutive times from

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

after recovering from

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include a ...

, he was later stripped of all his titles when an investigation found that he had used performance-enhancing drugs over his career. At age 16, Armstrong began competing as a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

and was a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist with the

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

team. He had success between 1993 and 1996 with the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, the

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

in 1995,

Tour DuPont The Tour DuPont was a cycling stage race in the United States held annually between 1989 and 1996, initially called the Tour de Trump in the first two years. It was intended to become a North American cycling event similar in format and prestig ...

in 1995 and 1996, and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including stage 8 of the

1993 Tour de France The 1993 Tour de France was the 80th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 3 to 25 July. It consisted of 20 stages, over a distance of . The winner of the previous two years, Miguel Induráin, successfully defended his title. The poi ...

and stage 18 of the

1995 Tour de France The 1995 Tour de France was the 82nd Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 23 July. 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 Porte ...

. In 1996, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal

metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

. After his recovery, he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now the Livestrong Foundation) to assist other cancer survivors. Returning to cycling in 1998, Armstrong was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005 when he won his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the

Astana team Astana Qazaqstan Team () is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Samruk-Kazyna, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural ...

in January 2009, finishing third in the

2009 Tour de France The 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. The race visit ...

later that year. Between 2010 and 2011, he raced with Team Radio Shack, and retired for a second time in 2011. Armstrong became the subject of doping allegations after he won the 1999 Tour de France. For years, he denied involvement in doping. In 2012, a

United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

(USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career and named him as the ringleader of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". While maintaining his innocence, Armstrong chose not to contest the charges, citing the potential toll on his family. He received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the

World Anti-Doping Code The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's k ...

, ending his competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders. In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted his involvement in doping. In April 2018, Armstrong settled a civil lawsuit with the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

and agreed to pay 5 million to the U.S. government after

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

proceedings were commenced by

Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...

, a former team member.

Early life

Armstrong was born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in

Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Capi ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, the son of Linda Gayle (née Mooneyham), a secretary, and Eddie Charles Gunderson (died 2012), a route manager for ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

''. He is of Canadian, Dutch, and Norwegian descent. He was named after

Lance Rentzel Thomas Lance Rentzel (born October 14, 1943) is a former American football flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma. ...

, a

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

wide receiver. His parents divorced in 1973 when Lance was two. The next year, his mother married Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance that year.

Career

Early career

Armstrong et Dufaux - World Cycling Championships 1990 - Amateur Men's Road Race

At the age of 12, Armstrong started his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He stopped swimming-only races after seeing a poster for a junior

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

, called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he won at age 13. In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of

USA Triathlon USA Triathlon (USAT) 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. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and ...

), Armstrong was ranked the number-one triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was

Chann McRae William Chann McRae (born October 11, 1971) is an American professional road bicycle racer from Albany, Georgia. He was a professional from 1996 to 2003. He raced in the Tour de France and grew up with Lance Armstrong. Major results ;1990 :3rd ...

, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion. Armstrong's total points in 1987 as an amateur were better than those of five professionals ranked higher than he was that year. At 16, Lance Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.

Motorola: 1992–96

In 1992, Armstrong turned professional with the

Motorola Cycling Team The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U.S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years, under the sponsorship of 7-Eleven through 1990 and th ...

, the successor of 7-Eleven team. In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races, but his breakthrough victory was the World Road Race Championship held in Norway. Before his World Championships win, he took his first win at the

, in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

. He was 97th in the general classification when he retired after stage 12. He collected the

Thrift Drug Thrift Drug was a U.S. pharmacy chain founded in 1935 and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was purchased by JCPenney in 1968, and was expanded greatly thereafter, serving as the flagship chain of JCPenney's pharmacy group. The cha ...

Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO national championship in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He is alleged by another cyclist competing in the CoreStates Road Race to have bribed that cyclist so that he would not compete with Armstrong for the win. In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the

in the United States. His successes in Europe occurred when he placed second in

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five '' Monuments'' of the European professional ...

and the

, where just two years before, he had finished in last place at his first all-pro event in Europe. He finished the year strongly at the World Championships in

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

, finishing in 7th place less than a minute behind winner

Luc Leblanc Luc Leblanc (born 4 August 1966 in Limoges, France) is a retired French professional road cyclist. He was World Road Champion in 1994. Biography In 1978, a drunk driver hit Luc Leblanc, aged 11, and his younger brother Gilles Leblanc, aged 8. ...

. In a 2016 speech to

University of Colorado, Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado s ...

professor Roger A. Pielke Jr.'s Introduction to Sports Governance class, Armstrong stated he began doping in "late Spring of 1995". He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, followed by an overall victory in the penultimate

and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

in the

, three days after the death of his teammate Fabio Casartelli, who crashed on the descent of the

Col de Portet d'Aspet The Col de Portet d'Aspet (elevation ) 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 Saint-Girons and connects the Ger and Bouigane valleys, on the s ...

on the 15th stage. After winning the stage, Armstrong pointed to the sky in honor of Casartelli. Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

and again won the Tour DuPont. However, he was able to compete for only five days in the Tour de France. In the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, he finished 6th in the

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

and 12th in the road race. In August 1996 following the Leeds Classic, Armstrong signed a 2-year, $2 million deal with the French Cofidis Cycling Team. Joining him in signing contracts with the French team were teammates

Frankie Andreu Francisco "Frankie" Andreu (born September 26, 1966) is an American former professional cyclist whose career highlights include riding as team captain of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team in 1998, 1999 and 2000. During his career, he won a n ...

and

Laurent Madouas Laurent Madouas (born 8 February 1967 in Rennes) is a French former road cyclist. His son Valentin is also a cyclist.stage three (advanced) testicular cancer (

embryonal carcinoma Embryonal carcinoma is a relatively uncommon type of germ cell tumour that occurs in the ovaries and testes. Signs and symptoms The presenting features may be a palpable testicular mass or asymmetric testicular enlargement in some cases. The tu ...

). The cancer had

spread Spread may refer to: Places * Spread, West Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film. * ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers * "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...

to his lymph nodes, lungs, brain, and abdomen. He visited

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

Jim Reeves in Austin, Texas, for diagnosis of his symptoms, including a headache, blurred vision, coughing up blood and a swollen testicle. On October 3, Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove the diseased testicle. When Reeves was asked in a later interview what he thought Armstrong's chances of survival were, he said, "Almost none. We told Lance initially 20 to 50% chance, mainly to give him hope. But with the kind of cancer he had, with the x-rays, the blood tests, almost no hope." After receiving a letter from Steven Wolff, an oncologist at Vanderbilt University, Armstrong went to the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

medical center in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and decided to receive the rest of his treatment there. The standard treatment for Armstrong's cancer was a "cocktail" of the drugs

bleomycin -13- (1''H''-imidazol-5-yl)methyl9-hydroxy-5- 1''R'')-1-hydroxyethyl8,10-dimethyl-4,7,12,15-tetraoxo-3,6,11,14-tetraazapentadec-1-yl}-2,4'-bi-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)carbonyl]amino}propyl)(dimethyl)sulfonium , chemical_formula = , C=55 , H=84 , N=1 ...

etoposide Etoposide, sold under the brand name Vepesid among others, is a chemotherapy medication used for the treatments of a number of types of cancer including testicular cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, neuroblastoma, and ovarian cancer. It is ...

, and

cisplatin Cisplatin is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers. These include testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, ...

(or Platinol) (BEP). The first chemotherapy cycle that Armstrong underwent included BEP, but for the three remaining cycles, he was given an alternative,

vinblastine Vinblastine (VBL), sold under the brand name Velban among others, is a chemotherapy medication, typically used with other medications, to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder ca ...

ifosfamide Ifosfamide (IFO), sold under the brand name Ifex among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes testicular cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, osteosarcoma, bladder cancer, small cell lung cancer, ce ...

, and

(VIP), to avoid lung toxicity associated with bleomycin. Armstrong credited this with saving his cycling career. At Indiana University,

Lawrence Einhorn Lawrence Einhorn is an American oncologist at Indiana University School of Medicine. A pioneer in cancer treatment research, Einhorn developed cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimens that increased cure rates while minimizing toxic side effects. O ...

had pioneered the use of cisplatin to treat testicular cancer. Armstrong's primary oncologist there was Craig Nichols. On October 25, his brain lesions, which were found to contain extensive

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated diges ...

, were surgically removed by Scott A. Shapiro, a professor of neurosurgery at Indiana University. Armstrong's final chemotherapy treatment took place on December 13, 1996. In January 1997, Armstrong unexpectedly appeared at the first training camp of the Cofidis team at Lille, riding with his new teammates before returning to the United States. In February 1997, he was declared cancer-free. In October, Cofidis announced that his contract would not be extended, after negotiations broke down over a new deal. A former boss at Subaru Montgomery offered him a contract with the US Postal team at a salary of $200,000 a year. By January 1998, Armstrong was engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe with the team.

US Postal/Discovery: 1998–2005

Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had participated in four Tour de France races, winning two stages. In 1993, he won the eighth stage and in 1995; he took stage 18 which he dedicated to teammate Fabio Casartelli who had crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of the 1996 Tour after the fifth stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis. Lance Armstrong MidiLibre 2002

Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 and he entered the 1998 edition of Paris-Nice but could not compete at such an elite level and abandoned the race. He then abandoned Europe with his fiancé and returned to

where he contemplated retirement. Not long after returning to the United States Armstrong entered seclusion near Beech Mountain and Boone,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

with former Tour de France rider

Bob Roll Bob "Bobke" Roll (born July 7, 1960 in Oakland, California) is an American former 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 ...

as well as Chris Carmichael and trained in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

. In May of 1998 Armstrong held his 2nd charity race for cancer research in Austin, Texas: The Race for the Roses.

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

, Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly and five time Tour champion

Miguel Indurain --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

were the most important cyclists at the event. LeMond said it was a good reason to get cyclists together, went on to say that life doesn't always deal the cards out equal and who knows if Armstrong will get back to the highest level, maybe he retires next year. During an interview Armstrong said the rider he admires the most is

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

, saying that when he's riding well, he's the fiercest competitor in the bunch. He then entered and won the

Tour of Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), ...

. During the 1998 Vuelta a España Armstrong shocked the cycling world by finishing in the top 5 during one ITT, the top 10 in another and for the most part staying with the GC contenders in the mountains en route to finishing 4th overall. His credibility as a threat was confirmed when he finished 4th in both the road race and time trial at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. As a result of these efforts Armstrong finished 3rd in the voting for the Vélo d'Or. In 1999 he won the Tour de France, including four stages. He beat the second place rider,

Alex Zülle Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 ...

, by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home c ...

(injury) and

Marco Pantani Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He r ...

(drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names in the sport. Stage wins included the prologue, stage eight, an

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, 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 began a six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong and 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 Beloki Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (born 12 August 1973) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Tour successes Beloki turned professional in 1998 with , joined in 2000, and then in 2001. A strong climber in the high mountains and a top p ...

. During stage eleven and twelve of this Tour is when the race was won as US Postal had Vuelta champ

Roberto Heras Roberto Heras Hernández (born 1 February 1974) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the Vuelta a España a record four times. Between 1997 and 2005 he finished in the top 5 of the Vuelta every year except 1998 when he f ...

lead Armstrong up both climbs, breaking the peloton in the process. Then when Heras' work was done Armstrong took off to claim the stage wins only having to contend with Beloki. Lance-Armstrong-TdF2004

The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only a minute and a second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

on stage 4 and on stage 9 Armstrong nearly crashed out of the Tour while defending the yellow jersey. He was less than a minute ahead of Beloki and

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and russian: Александр Николаевич Винокуров; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam ...

was on a solo attack threatening to overtake Armstrong in the standings. While traversing the Côte de la Rochette Beloki crashed violently and hard, ending his Tour and sending him to the hospital with serious injuries. Armstrong narrowly avoided the same fate by reacting in time to avoid Beloki, but to do so he went off the road and ended up on a foot trail which led downhill through a field. He survived upright on his bike nearly to the end, at which time he picked it up and carried it the rest of the way to the road at the bottom of the hairpin turn, essentially losing no time as a result. He could have been fined or penalized for taking a shortcut, but it was deemed unintentional. Armstrong maintained a gap of only +0:21 over Vinokourov, but Ullrich was emerging as the most likely rider to overthrow Armstrong. Armstrong then took stage 15—despite having been knocked off on the ascent to

Luz Ardiden Luz Ardiden is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Occitanie Region. The ski resort lies at a height of 1720 meters and was opened on January 16, 1975. In recent years the road to Luz Ardiden ...

, 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 Klöden Andreas Klöden (born 22 June 1975) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2013. His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and finishing second in the gen ...

. 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 biker since

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of ...

was won in style by Armstrong as he passed

Ivan Basso Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1999 and 2015 for seven different teams. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, was considered among the best mountain riders in ...

on the way despite having set 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. Lance Armstrong 2005

In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by American

David Zabriskie David Zabriskie (born January 12, 1979) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States, who competed as a professional between 1999 and 2013. His main strength is individual time trials and his career highlights include stage ...

in the stage 1 time trial by two seconds, despite having passed 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's lead 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 Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. Leipheimer was born a ...

. But still, the American champion handled them well, maintained his lead and, on some occasions, increased it. To complete his record-breaking feat, he crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his seventh consecutive Tour, finishing 4 m 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 was 41.7 km/h (26 mph). In 2005, Armstrong announced he would retire after the

2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance . It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong origin ...

, citing his desire to spend more time with his family and his foundation.Armstrong, L., & Kreutz, E. (2009). ''Comeback 2.0: Up close and personal''. New York: Touchstone. During his retirement, he diverted his attention away from the happenings in professional cycling; however whilst at a conference, in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he saw Carlos Sastre's win on Alpe d'Huez and "felt a pang".

Comeback

Astana Pro Team: 2009

Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008, that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the

. ''VeloNews'' reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online. Lance Armstrong (Tour de France 2009 - Stage 17)

Lance Armstrong (Tour de France 2009 - Stage 17)

Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008, that Armstrong would compete in the UCI

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI World ...

through

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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. He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in Baltanás, Spain, and breaking his

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...

. Armstrong flew back to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 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 Bruyneel Johan Bruyneel (born 23 August 1964) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer and a former directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team , and (later known as Discovery Channel), a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team. On 25 October 2018, the ...

, stemming from a March 17, 2009, encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in

Beaulieu-sur-Mer Beaulieu-sur-Mer (; oc, Bèuluec de Mar; it, Belluogo; "Beautiful Place on the Sea"), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Ma ...

. 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 Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI Americ ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

on April 29. On July 7, in the fourth stage of the

, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the

. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second (0.22) outside

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was born in Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Cancellara began ...

's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France on the podium in 3rd place. The only riders able to drop him were

Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration f ...

who was able to defeat him by +1:13 and his own Astana teammate

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the V ...

, who won the Tour by more than four minutes over Schleck.

Team RadioShack: 2010–11

Tour de France 2010, lance (14890352213)

On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010.

RadioShack RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921. At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...

was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named

Team RadioShack Team RadioShack was 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-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour ...

. Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the

where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders who completed the race. He made his European season debut at the

2010 Vuelta a Murcia The 2010 Vuelta a Murcia was the 26th edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 3 March to 7 March 2010. The race started in San Pedro del Pinatar and finished in Murcia. The race was won by František Raboň. General classifica ...

finishing in seventh place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it ...

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

, and the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...

, 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

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside

Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

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 The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de Franc ...

and third in the

. On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour's prologue time trial, finishing fourth. Only time trial specialists were able to better Armstrong's time and he was the highest placed of the GC contenders with a young, relatively unknown rider, Geraint Thomas, finishing one second behind him and Contador four seconds slower. In all eight of Armstrong's Tours since his comeback in 1999 he always had the requisite good luck early in the Tour and never got involved in crashes or mechanicals, which could cost him serious time. In 2010 his luck ran out early as he lost serious time due to the aftermath and

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

splits caused by a crash on stage 3, and then another crash on stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyrenean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate

Chris Horner Christopher Brandon Horner (born October 23, 1971) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2019, and is the most recent American rider to win a Grand Tour. A current resident of Bend, ...

. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind former winner

. 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 his international career after the

in January 2011. He stated that after January 2011, he will race only in the U.S. with the

Radioshack RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921. At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...

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.

Collaboration of sponsors

Armstrong improved 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 One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One", taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek company),

Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackles and rowing equipment, who also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Named after founder Shozabu ...

, Sram, Giro and Oakley, collaborated for an array of products.

Doping allegations, investigation and confession

For much of his career, Armstrong faced persistent allegations of doping. Armstrong denied all such allegations until January 2013, often claiming that he never had any positive test in the drug tests he has taken over his cycling career. Armstrong has been criticized for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as

Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for '' T ...

and

Christophe Bassons Christophe Bassons (born 10 June 1974) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. His career ended when he spoke out about doping in the Tour de France. Origins Christophe Bassons was born in Mazamet, France, in the Tarn department. ...

. Bassons was a rider for Festina at the time of the Festina affair and was widely reported by teammates as being the only rider on the team not to be taking performance-enhancing drugs. Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the

. 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 TF1, 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 Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

''. Armstrong continued to deny the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs for four more years, describing himself as the most tested athlete in the world. From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong claimed to have submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities.

Working with Michele Ferrari

Armstrong was criticized for working with controversial trainer

Michele Ferrari Michele Ferrari (born 26 March 1953) is an Italian physician, cycling coach and author, who is mostly known for his role in supplying bicycle racers with performance-enhancing drugs, notably EPO. His most famous client was Lance Armstrong. Biog ...

. Ferrari claimed that he was introduced to Lance by

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

in 1995.

described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer

Jean-Marie Leblanc Jean-Marie Leblanc (born 27 July 1944, in Nueil-sur-Argent, now Nueil-les-Aubiers, Deux-Sèvres) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director of the Tour de France from 1989 to 2007, when he reached pensionable a ...

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 claimed he 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." Though Ferrari was banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the

Italian Cycling Federation The Italian Cycling Federation or FCI (in Italian: ''Federazione Ciclistica Italiana'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in Italy. The FCI is a member of the UCI and the UEC. Purpose See also *Italy national cycling team Exter ...

, according to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as late as 2010 in a country outside Italy. According to ''

Cycling News Cyclingnews.com is a website providing cycling news and race result owned by Future. History In 1995 Australian Bill Mitchell, a keen cyclist and professor of economics at the University of Newcastle, created the website titled "Bill’s Cyclin ...

'', "

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

reveals an intimate role played by Dr. Michele Ferrari in masterminding Armstrong's Tour de France success". According to the USADA report, Armstrong paid Ferrari over a million dollars from 1996 to 2006, countering Armstrong's claim that he severed his professional relationship with Ferrari in 2004. The report also includes numerous eyewitness accounts of Ferrari injecting Armstrong with EPO on a number of occasions.

''L.A. Confidentiel'': 2004

In 2004, reporters

Pierre Ballester Pierre Ballester (1959) is a French sports journalist. He has written extensively about doping in cycling. Career He was a correspondent in London for Agence France-Presse, ''Sport'', and '' L'Equipe''. Ballester co-wrote '' L.A. Confidentiel' ...

and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs ('' L.A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong''). 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. Among the allegations in the book were claims by Armstrong's former

soigneur A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, whic ...

Emma O'Reilly that a backdated prescription for cortisone had been produced in 1999 to avoid a positive test. A 1999 urine sample at the Tour de France showed traces of

corticosteroid Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are inv ...

. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for

saddle sores A saddle sore in humans is a skin ailment on the buttocks due to, or exacerbated by, horse riding or cycling on a bicycle saddle. It often develops in three stages: skin abrasion, folliculitis (which looks like a small, reddish acne), and finally ...

which contained the substance. O'Reilly said she heard team officials worrying about Armstrong's positive test for steroids during the Tour. She said: "They were in a panic, saying: 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?'" According to O'Reilly, the solution was to get one of their compliant doctors to issue a pre-dated prescription for a steroid-based ointment to combat saddle sores. He said she would have known if Armstrong had saddle sores as she would have administered any treatment for it. O'Reilly said that Armstrong told her: "Now, Emma, you know enough to bring me down." O'Reilly said on other occasions she was asked to dispose of used syringes for Armstrong and pick up strange parcels for the team. Allegations in the book were reprinted in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' (UK) 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."'' The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published ''L.A. Official'' and ''Le Sale Tour'' (''The Dirty Trick''), further pressing 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 (5α-androst-16-en-3-one) is a 16-androstene class steroidal pheromone. It is found in boar's saliva, celery cytoplasm, and truffle fungus. Androstenone was the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concent ...

while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

, 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. 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 its suit, the paper is seeking a return of the original settlement, plus interest and the cost of defending the original case. In August 2013, Armstrong and ''The Sunday Times'' reached an undisclosed settlement.

Tour de France urine tests: 2005

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 six urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the

1999 Tour de France The 1999 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 86th edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Ant ...

, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(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 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 IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured

Dick Pound Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming champion, lawyer, and spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and vice-presi ...

, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong. In April 2009, anti-doping expert Michael Ashenden said "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 EPO 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."

SCA Promotions case: 2005–2015

In June 2006, French newspaper ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' reported claims by Betsy and

during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted to 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 Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...

, EPO,

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

s and

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...

." 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 National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR), 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's 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'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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 ''Los Angeles 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 that 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 ''Los Angeles Times'' article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy, and

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and tri ...

conversation between Andreu and

Jonathan Vaughters Jonathan James Vaughters (born June 10, 1973) is an American former professional racing cyclist and current manager of UCI WorldTeam . Racing career Vaughters started competitive cycling in the 1980s, racing in the Red Zinger Mini Classics you ...

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 ''Los Angeles Times'' reported: "Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless." The ''Los Angeles 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." In October 2012, following the publication of the USADA reasoned decision, SCA Promotions announced its intention to recoup the monies paid to Armstrong totaling in excess of $7 million. Armstrong's legal representative Tim Herman stated in June: "When SCA decided to settle the case, it settled the entire matter forever. No backs. No re-dos. No do-overs. SCA knowingly and independently waived any right to make further claims to any of the money it paid." SCA's Jeff Dorough stated that on October 30, 2012, Armstrong was sent a formal request for the return of $12 million in bonuses. It is alleged that Armstrong's legal team has offered a settlement of $1 million. On February 4, 2015 the arbitration panel decided 2–1 in SCA's favor and ordered Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp to pay SCA $10 million. The panel's decision was referred to the Texas 116th Civil District Court in Dallas on February 16, 2015 for confirmation. Panel members Richard Faulkner and Richard Chernick sided with SCA; Ted Lyon sided with Armstrong. Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman stated that the panel's ruling was contrary to Texas law and expected that the court would overturn it. The panel's decision said, in part, about Armstrong that, "Perjury must never be profitable" and "it is almost certainly the most devious sustained deception ever perpetrated in world sporting history." On September 27, 2015, Armstrong and SCA agreed to a settlement. Armstrong issued a formal, public apology and agreed to pay SCA an undisclosed sum.

Federal investigation: 2010–2012

In a series of emails in May 2010,

admitted to doping and accused Armstrong and others of the same. Based on Landis's allegations,

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States ...

federal prosecutors led an investigation into possible crimes conducted by Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. The

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

and federal agent

Jeff Novitzky Jeff Novitzky (born December 15, 1967) is the current Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, the world's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. He previously served as a special agent for the Food and Drug Admin ...

were also involved in the investigation. In June 2010, Armstrong hired a criminal defense attorney to represent him in the investigation. The hiring was first reported in July when Armstrong was competing in the

2010 Tour de France The 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. The race visited th ...

. On February 3, 2012, federal prosecutors officially dropped their criminal investigation with no charges. The closing of the case was announced "without an explanation" by U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. When Novitzky was asked to comment on it, he declined. In February 2013, a month after Armstrong admitted to doping, the Justice Department joined Landis's whistleblower lawsuit to recover government funding given to Armstrong's cycling team.

USADA investigation and limited confession: 2011–2013

In June 2012, the

(USADA) accused Armstrong of doping and trafficking of drugs, based on blood samples from 2009 and 2010, and testimony from witnesses including former teammates. Further, he was accused of putting pressure on teammates to take unauthorized performance-enhancing drugs as well. In October 2012, USADA formally charged him with running a massive doping ring. It also sought to ban him from participating in sports sanctioned by WADA for life. Armstrong chose not to appeal the findings, saying it would not be worth the toll on his family. As a result, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. He also received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the

. As nearly all national and international sporting federations, including UCI, follow the World Anti-Doping Code, this effectively ended his competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders. After years of public denials, in a January 2013 interview with

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

, Armstrong reversed course and made a "limited confession" to doping. While admitting wrongdoing in the interview, he also said it was "absolutely not" true that he was doping in 2009 or 2010, and claimed that the last time he "crossed the line" was in 2005. He also denied pressuring team-mates into doping. In September 2013, he was asked by UCI's new president,

Brian Cookson Michael Brian Cookson OBE (born 22 June 1951) is the former president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), having been elected to the post in September 2013 at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships. Cookson previously served as president ...

, to testify about his doping. Armstrong refused to testify until and unless he received complete amnesty, which Cookson said was most unlikely to happen. After USADA's report, all of Armstrong's sponsors dropped him. He reportedly lost $75 million of sponsorship income in a day. On May 28, 2013, Nike announced that it would be cutting all ties to Livestrong. In the aftermath of Armstrong's fall from grace, a CNN article wrote that "The epic downfall of cycling's star, once an idolized icon of millions around the globe, stands out in the history of professional sports." In a 2015 interview with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

, Armstrong stated that if it was still 1995, he would "probably do it again".

Whistleblower lawsuit: 2010–2018

In 2010, one of Armstrong's former teammates, the American

, whose

2006 Tour De France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the United ...

victory was nullified after a positive doping test, sent a series of emails to cycling officials and sponsors admitting to, and detailing, his systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career. The emails also claimed that other riders and cycling officials participated in doping, including Armstrong. Landis filed a federal

lawsuit against Armstrong under the federal

False Claims Act The False Claims Act (FCA), also called the "Lincoln Law", is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal government's primary litigat ...

. The False Claims Act allows citizens to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded. The existence of the lawsuit, initially filed under seal, was first revealed by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in 2010. In the lawsuit, Landis alleged that Armstrong and team managers defrauded the US government when they accepted money from the US Postal Service. In January 2013,

US Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

officials recommended joining the federal lawsuit aimed at clawing back money from Armstrong. In February, the US Department of Justice joined the whistleblower lawsuit, which also accused former Postal Service team director

and Tailwind Sports, the firm that managed the US Postal Service team, of defrauding the US. In April 2014, documents from the AIC case were filed by lawyers representing Landis in relation to the whistleblower suit. In these documents, Armstrong stated under oath that Jose "Pepi" Marti, Dr Pedro Celaya, Dr Luis Garcia del Moral and Dr Michele Ferrari had all provided him with doping products in the period up until 2005. He also named people who had transported or acted as couriers, as well as people that were aware of his doping practices. One week later, the USADA banned Bruyneel from cycling for ten years and Celaya and Marti for eight years. In June 2014, US district judge Robert Wilkins denied Armstrong's request to dismiss the government lawsuit stating "The court denies without prejudice the defendants' motion to dismiss the government's action as time-barred." In February 2017, the court determined that the federal government's 100 million civil lawsuit against Armstrong, started by Landis, would proceed to trial. The matter was settled in April 2018 when Armstrong agreed to pay the United States Government 5 million. During the proceedings it was revealed that the US Postal Service had paid 31 million in sponsorship to Armstrong and Tailwind Sports between 2001 and 2004. The Department of Justice accused Armstrong of violating his contract with the USPS and committing fraud when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. It was reported that Landis would receive 1.1 million as a result of his whistleblower actions.

Other lawsuits: 2010 to present

In November 2013, Armstrong settled a lawsuit with Acceptance Insurance Company (AIC). AIC had sought to recover $3 million it had paid Armstrong as bonuses for winning the Tour de France from 1999 to 2001. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum one day before Armstrong was scheduled to give a deposition under oath.

Personal life

Desmond Howard Lance Armstrong College Gameday

Armstrong owns homes in

, and

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

, as well as a ranch in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Americ ...

Relationships and children

Armstrong met Kristin Richard in June 1997. They married on May 1, 1998, and had three children: a son (born October 1999) and twin daughters (born November 2001). The pregnancies were made possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, before chemotherapy and surgery. The couple divorced in 2003. 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. Lance and Kristin Armstrong announced their divorce in 2003, the same year that Lance began dating singer-songwriter

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

. The couple announced their

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. In July 2008, Armstrong began dating Anna Hansen after meeting through Armstrong's charity work. 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, the child was conceived naturally. They have a son (born June 2009) and a daughter (born October 2010). They were married on August 9, 2022.

Politics

President George Bush and 2005 Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong take a ride together

In a ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' article, teammate

George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 a ...

hinted that Armstrong would run for

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

after cycling. In the July 2005 issue of '' Outside'' magazine, Armstrong hinted at running for governor, although "not in '06". Armstrong and former president George W. Bush, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. Bush called Armstrong in France to congratulate him after his 2005 victory. In August 2005, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' reported the President had invited Armstrong to his

Prairie Chapel Ranch Prairie Chapel Ranch, nicknamed Bush Ranch, is a 1,583- acre (6.4 km2) ranch in unincorporated McLennan County, Texas, located northwest of Crawford (about from Waco). The property was acquired by George W. Bush in 1999 and was known ...

to go

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

. In a 2003 interview with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', 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 Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co- ...

on PBS on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the commitment that led him to retire from cycling. Also, in August 2005, Armstrong said that he was no longer considering politics: Armstrong created a YouTube video in 2007 with former President George H. W. Bush to successfully pass Proposition 15, a US$3 billion taxpayer bond initiative which created the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.Livestrong Foundation Press Release: Pelosi armstrong

Armstrong was co-chair of a California campaign committee to pass the

California Cancer Research Act Proposition 29, the California Cancer Research Act, is a California ballot measure that was defeated by California voters at the California state elections, June 2012, statewide election on June 5, 2012. The measure would have placed a $1 exci ...

, a ballot measure defeated by California voters on June 5, 2012. Had it passed, the measure was projected to generate over $500 million annually for cancer research, smoking-cessation programs and tobacco law-enforcement by levying a $1-per-pack tax on tobacco products in California. Armstrong endorsed Democratic Congressman

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senat ...

against Republican incumbent Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...

in the 2018 election.

Outside cycling

In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation raises awareness of cancer and has raised more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets. During his first 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 500 The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish Jr. won from the pole position. It was Hornish's first and only win at Indianapolis, and the record fourteenth Indy vict ...

. In 2007, Armstrong with

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

Warrick Dunn Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 ...

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

Andrea Jaeger Andrea Jaeger ( ; born June 4, 1965) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 2, Jaeger's brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger started her professional tennis career ...

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the ...

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-yea ...

, and Cal Ripken Jr. founded

Athletes for Hope Athletes for Hope is 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 f ...

, a charity that helps professional athletes become involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire non-athletes to volunteer and support the community. 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 addressed the riders the Friday evening before the two-day ride and helped the ride raise millions for cancer research. Armstrong ran the 2006

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

with two friends. He assembled a pace team of

Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where ...

Joan Benoit Samuelson Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woma ...

, and

Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj ( ar, هشام الݣروج, Hishām l-Garrūj; ber, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ, Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record h ...

to help him reach three hours. He finished in 2h 59m 36s, in 856th place. He said the race was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event which, 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

LiveStrong The Livestrong Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer. The foundation, based in Austin, Texas, was established in 1997 by cancer survivor and former professional road racing c ...

campaign during the run. Armstrong ran the 2007 NYC Marathon in 2h 46m 43s, finishing 232nd. On April 21, 2008, he ran the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

in 2h 50m 58s, finishing in the top 500. Armstrong made a return to triathlon in 2011 by competing in the off-road

XTERRA Triathlon XTERRA is a series of cross triathlon races, i.e. three-sport races which include swimming, mountain biking, and trail running. The XTERRA Global Tour is owned and produced by XTERRA Sports Limited. The XTERRA race series is the best-known ser ...

race series. At the Championships Armstrong led for a time before crashing out on the bike and finishing in 23rd place. The following year, in 2012, Armstrong began pursuing qualification into the

2012 Ironman World Championship The 2012 Ironman World Championship was a long distance triathlon competition held on October 13, 2012 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The championship won by Pete Jacobs of Australia and Leanda Cave of England. It was the 36th such Ironman Triathlon Wo ...

. He was scheduled to next participate in Ironman France on June 24. However, the June suspension by USADA and eventual ban by WADA prohibited Armstrong from further racing Ironman branded events due to

World Triathlon Corporation The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events. History In De ...

anti-doping policies. In July 2011 and July 2013, Armstrong participated in the non-competitive Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Business and investments

Armstrong owns a coffee shop in downtown Austin, Texas, called "Juan Pelota Cafe". The name is a joking reference to his testicular cancer, with the name "Juan" being considered by some a

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

for "one" and "Pelota" being the Spanish word for "ball". In the same building, Armstrong owns and operates a bike shop named "Mellow Johnny's", after another nickname of his derived from the Tour term "maillot jaune", which is French for yellow jersey, the jersey given to the leader of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

. In 2001, Armstrong provided funding to launch Wonders & Worries, a non-profit organization in Austin, Texas that provides counseling and support for children who have a parent with a serious or life-threatening disease. A line of cycling clothing from

, 10//2, was named after the date (October 2, 1996) that Armstrong was diagnosed with

. In 2008, Armstrong bought several million dollars of stock in the American bicycle component manufacturer

SRAM Corporation SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray, and Sam, (where Ray is the middle name of the company's ...

, and has served as their technical advisor. SRAM bought those shares back from him in preparation for a public offering. Armstrong owns a small share of

Trek Bicycle Corporation Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Rac ...

. In 2009, Armstrong invested $100,000 into

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which h ...

firm

Lowercase Capital Lowercase Capital is an American venture capital firm that provided seed and early stage funding for a number of successful startups including Twitter, Twilio, Kickstarter, Uber, Instagram, and Stripe. It raised over $1 billion in capital and s ...

, which subsequently bought an early stake in

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...

, among other investments. In 2019, Uber achieved an IPO of $82 billion and earned Armstrong an estimated $20-$30 million. According to CNBC, Armstrong said "it saved our family".

Media

In 2017, Armstrong started a podcast named "The Move", which provided daily coverage of the

in 2018 and 2019. He also appeared—without compensation—on NBC Sports Network's live Tour de France television broadcasts. The UCI indicated the podcast and NBC appearances did not violate the terms of his ban.

Career achievements

Major results

Road

;1990 : 8th Overall

Tour of Sweden The Tour of Sweden (or Postgirot Open) was an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's ...

;1991 : 1st MaillotUSA

Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;1992 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, also known as the Longsjo Classic, was an annual bicycle race held in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The race began in 1960 as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr Memorial Race, in honor of Art Longsjo. History Th ...

::1st Stage 2 : 1st First Union Grand Prix : 1st Stage 6 Settimana Bergamasca : 1st Stage 4a Vuelta a Galicia : 1st Stage 2 Trittico Premondiale : 2nd Züri–Metzgete : 8th

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 1919 the business magnate Antonio Bernocchi founded the Coppa Bernocchi (or Bernocchi Cup) ...

;1993 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 1st

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic ::1st Prologue & Stage 1 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour of America : 1st

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compet ...

: 1st Thrift Drug Classic : 1st Stage 8

: 2nd Overall Tour du Pont ::1st Stage 5 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 5th

Wincanton Classic Wincanton Classic (also known as Leeds International Classic and Rochester International Classic) was a cycling classic taking place in the United Kingdom as part of the UCI Road World Cup. It was first held in 1989 in Newcastle, moving to Brig ...

: 9th Overall

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlooki ...

;1994 : 1st Thrift Drug Classic : 2nd Overall Tour du Pont ::1st Stage 7 : 2nd

: 2nd

: 7th Overall Tour de Suisse : 7th Road race,

: 9th

: 9th Züri–Metzgete ;1995 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour du Pont ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 4, 5 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

) & 9 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic ::1st Stage 4 : 1st

: 1st Stage 18

: 1st Stage 5

: 5th Road race, National Road Championships : 6th

: 10th Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day wo ...

: 10th Züri–Metzgete ;1996 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour du Pont ::1st Stages 2, 3b (

), 5, 6 & 12 (

) : 1st

: 2nd Overall

Ronde van Nederland The Tour of the Netherlands ''(Dutch: Ronde van Nederland)'' was a road bicycle racing stage-race in the Netherlands, founded in 1948. It's an annual race since 1975. Because of the start of the UCI ProTour in 2005, it was replaced by the Eneco ...

: 2nd

Grand Prix Eddy Merckx Grand Prix Eddy Merckx was a cycle race around Brussels, where Eddy Merckx was born. It was held between 1980 and 2004, disappearing after the creation of the UCI ProTour in 2005. The race was initially an individual time trial, becoming a Team ti ...

: 4th Overall Tour de Suisse : 4th

: 6th

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

: 8th

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 k ...

: 9th

LuK Challenge Chrono LuK Challenge Chrono was a road bicycle race held annually as a team time trial for pairs in Bühl, Germany. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycl ...

(with

Sean Yates Sean Yates (born 18 May 1960) is an English former professional cyclist and directeur sportif. Career Yates competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics, finishing sixth in the 4,000m individual pursuit. As an amateur in 1980, he won the British 25-mi ...

;1998 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour de Luxembourg ::1st Stage 1 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

: 1st

Cascade Cycling Classic The Cascade Cycling Classic was the longest running elite road bicycle racing stage race in the United States (1980–2019), with 2018 being the only year the race was not held. The race took place in the Central Oregon region and was based in Be ...

: 1st Sprint 56K Criterium : 4th Overall

: 4th Overall
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...
: ~~4th Road race, UCI Road World Road Championships~~ ;1999 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Prologue, Stages 8 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
), 9 & 19 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 1st Stage 4
Route du Sud The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...
: 1st Stage 4 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
)
Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...
: 1st
RaboRonde Heerlen RaboRonde Heerlen or Profronde van Heerlen ( en, Proftour Heerlen) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Heerlen, Netherlands. It's one of the largest post-Tour de France criteriums with about 50,000 ...
: 2nd
Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...
: 7th Overall
Vuelta a Aragón Vuelta a Aragón is a professional bicycle road race held in Spain in May of each year. The event was first run in 1939, and was not held between 2006 and 2017. The future of the race is uncertain; there had been plans to organise it again, but an ...
: ~~8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::~~1st Prologue~~ ;2000 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Stage 19 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 1st
Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...
: 1st
Grand Prix Eddy Merckx Grand Prix Eddy Merckx was a cycle race around Brussels, where Eddy Merckx was born. It was held between 1980 and 2004, disappearing after the creation of the UCI ProTour in 2005. The race was initially an individual time trial, becoming a Team ti ...
: ~~2nd Paris–Camembert~~ : ~~3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::1st Stage 3 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 3rd
Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...
,
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
: 3rd
Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of th ...
: 4th
Grand Prix Gippingen Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (german: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau) is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of G ...
: ~~5th Züri–Metzgete~~ : ~~7th GP Miguel Induráin~~ ;2001 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Stages 10, 11 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
), 13 & 18 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : ~~1st Overall Tour de Suisse~~ ::1st Stages 1 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) & 8 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 2nd
Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...
: 2nd
Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of th ...
;2002 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Prologue, Stages 11, 12 & 19 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : ~~1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::~~1st Stage 6~~ : 1st Overall
Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation co ...
: 1st
Profronde van Stiphout Profronde van Stiphout ( en, Proftour of Stiphout), also known as Bavaria Profronde Stiphout due to sponsorship reasons is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Stiphout, Netherlands ) , anthem = ...
: 2nd Overall
Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...
: ~~3rd Züri–Metzgete~~ : 4th
Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...
: 5th
Grand Prix Eddy Merckx Grand Prix Eddy Merckx was a cycle race around Brussels, where Eddy Merckx was born. It was held between 1980 and 2004, disappearing after the creation of the UCI ProTour in 2005. The race was initially an individual time trial, becoming a Team ti ...
: 6th
San Francisco Grand Prix The San Francisco Grand Prix was a road cycling race held in San Francisco, United States in early September. It was as a 1.HC event and in 2005 part of the UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compet ...
: 8th
LuK Challenge Chrono LuK Challenge Chrono was a road bicycle race held annually as a team time trial for pairs in Bühl, Germany. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycl ...
(with
Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
) ;2003 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::~~1st Stages 4 ( TTT) & 15~~ : ~~1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::1st Stage 3 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 6th
LuK Challenge Chrono LuK Challenge Chrono was a road bicycle race held annually as a team time trial for pairs in Bühl, Germany. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycl ...
(with
Viatcheslav Ekimov Viatcheslav Vladimirovich Ekimov ( Russian Вячеслав Владимирович Екимов; born 4 February 1966), nicknamed ''Eki'', is a Russian former professional racing cyclist. A triple Olympic gold medalist, he was awarded the tit ...
) : 8th
Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...
;2004 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Stages 4 ( TTT), 13, 15, 16 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
), 17 & 19 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 1st Overall
Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage rac ...
::1st Stages 3 & 4 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : 1st
Profronde van Stiphout Profronde van Stiphout ( en, Proftour of Stiphout), also known as Bavaria Profronde Stiphout due to sponsorship reasons is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Stiphout, Netherlands ) , anthem = ...
: 3rd Overall
Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...
: 4th
LuK Challenge Chrono LuK Challenge Chrono was a road bicycle race held annually as a team time trial for pairs in Bühl, Germany. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycl ...
(with
George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 a ...
) : 5th Overall
Volta ao Algarve The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI P ...
::1st Stage 4 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : ~~6th Overall Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon~~ ::~~1st Stage 5~~ ;2005 : 1st Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::1st Stages 4 ( TTT) & 20 (
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
) : ~~4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::~~1st Points classification~~ : 5th Overall
Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage rac ...
;2009 : 1st
Nevada City Classic The Nevada City Classic (previously: Tour of Nevada City; Father's Day Bicycle Classic), one of the most historic and challenging professional cycling races in the US, is held in Nevada City, California. Established in 1960, the Nevada City Classi ...
: 2nd Overall
Tour of the Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI Americ ...
: 3rd Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
::~~1st Stage 4 ( TTT)~~ : 7th Overall
Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...
;2010 : ~~2nd Overall Tour de Suisse~~ : ~~3rd Overall Tour de Luxembourg~~ : 7th Overall
Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia ( en, Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, d ...

= Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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

Mountain Bike

;2008 : ~~1st 12 Hours of Snowmass~~ : ~~2nd Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race~~ ;2009 : ~~1st Colorado Pro Cross-Country Championships~~ : ~~1st Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race~~

Filmography

* ''

Road to Paris ''Road to Paris'' is a 2001 documentary film showing the preparation of Lance Armstrong, then twice winner of Tour de France, and his team, US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, for the 2001 Tour de France. The film was shot during April, covering ...

'' (2001), documentary * '' DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), cameo appearance * ''

You, Me and Dupree ''You, Me and Dupree'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and written by Mike LeSieur. It stars Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer, Todd Stashwick, and Michael Douglas. The film ...

'' (2006), cameo appearance * ''

The Armstrong Lie ''The Armstrong Lie'' is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney about the cyclist Lance Armstrong. Originally titled ''The Road Back'', the film takes its name from ''"Le Mensonge Armstrong"'', the headline of the August 23, 20 ...

'' (2013), documentary * ''Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story'' (2014), documentary * '' The Program'' (2015), biographical drama film * '' Tour de Pharmacy'' (2017), appearing as himself, acting as parody of an anonymous source * ''Lance'' (2020), documentary

Accolades

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

(USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003) *

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

Male

Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...

(2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) * World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award,

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lif ...

International Trophy (2000) *

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

Sportsman of the Year (2003) *

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in Sports (2000) * Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport (2003) * ''Mendrisio d'Or'' Award in Switzerland (1999) * ''Premio Coppi-Bici d'Oro'' Trophy by the

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champion of Champions ...

foundation in conjunction with

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

(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 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 The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

(

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

) * Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002) * ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' magazine's

Sportsman of the Year Since its inception in 1954, ''Sports Illustrated'' 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-Amer ...

(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) * Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988) * Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006) * An asteroid, 1994 JE₉ was named 12373 Lancearmstrong in honor of him. * Six-mile Lance Armstrong Bikeway through downtown

, built by the city of Austin at a cost of $3.2 million. * Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award presented by the

United States Sports Academy The United States Sports Academy is a private university focused on sports and 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 ...

(1999) * Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards (2001) Rescinded awards *

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year The BBC World Sport Star of the Year (formerly known as 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 c ...

Award (2003) * Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters,

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

(2006) * Key to the city of

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

(2012) *

Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual men from the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus ...

Winner (2003) *

Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year The Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of those individuals or teams who have made a comeback performance in the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven cons ...

Winner (2000) *

Nominated (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006) *

Nominated (2010) * Grand Prix Serge-Kampf de l'Académie des sports (France, 2004) *

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France, 2005) * '' Vélo d'Or'' Award by ''Velo'' magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)Armstrong's results have been removed by Velo magazine

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
The Lance Armstrong Foundation
* * * *
USADA – U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team Investigation – Reasoned Decision
* Kimmage, Paul
"Tour gears up for return of Lance Armstrong"
''The Sunday Times'', July 5, 2009.

oprah.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Lance 1971 births American adoptees American cycling road race champions American health activists American male cyclists American people of Norwegian descent American sportspeople in doping cases American Tour de France stage winners Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Cyclists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists stripped of Tour de France titles Doping cases in cycling Laureus World Sports Awards winners Living people Olympic cyclists of the United States People stripped of honorary degrees Sportspeople banned for life Sportspeople from Austin, Texas Sportspeople from Plano, Texas UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Cyclists from Texas

Early life

Career

Early career

Motorola: 1992–96

US Postal/Discovery: 1998–2005

Comeback

Astana Pro Team: 2009

Team RadioShack: 2010–11

Collaboration of sponsors

Doping allegations, investigation and confession

Working with Michele Ferrari

''L.A. Confidentiel'': 2004

Tour de France urine tests: 2005

SCA Promotions case: 2005–2015

Federal investigation: 2010–2012

USADA investigation and limited confession: 2011–2013

Whistleblower lawsuit: 2010–2018

Other lawsuits: 2010 to present

Personal life

Relationships and children

Politics

Outside cycling

Business and investments

Media

Career achievements

Major results

Road

= Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Triathlon & Ironman

Mountain Bike

Filmography

Accolades

See also

Notes and references

Bibliography

Further reading

External links