Born September 18, 1971, Lance's natural athleticism was nurtured by his mother Linda, a single parent, while his temperament was molded by his participation in a variety of sports in their hometown of Plano, Texas. With the energy of youth, an inherent ability and a decidedly competitive nature on his side, Lance won the Iron Kids Triathlon at 13 and became a professional triathlete when he was just 16 years old. The swimming and running components of triathlon competition eventually gave way to cycling, however, and by the time Lance was a senior in high school he had a rolodex of potential cycling sponsors and a burgeoning career that was quickly replacing nearly everything else in his life. Long rides on Saturdays frequently took him to the Oklahoma border, where he had bicycled so far away from home he would have to call his mother to come and pick him up. Lance maintains that he was "born to race bikes." The evidence was mounting to support that theory even before he was out of high school. With a determination that belied his age, Lance qualified to train with the U.S. Olympic developmental team in Colorado Springs, Colorado during his senior year. His grueling training schedule nearly cost him his high school diploma, but private classes during the final weeks of the school year enabled Lance to graduate with his class. With graduation came the ability to finally turn his attention to cycling full time -- college would have to wait.
Lance qualified for the 1989 junior world championships in Moscow the summer following his graduation. Amateur competition would prove valuable for Lance in more than the obvious ways. Not only was he able to hone his skills, but it acquainted the shy, all-American kid from Plano with life outside of Texas and enabled him to make important connections in the cycling world. Astoundingly, by 1991 he was the U.S. National Amateur Champion. Lance remained an amateur competitor through the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona, where he finished 14th.
His first professional race after his Olympic experience was the 1992 Classico San Sebastian. Up to that point, Lance's rise through the ranks of amateur cyclists had been virtually effortless. He would find out that it's not always so easy, crossing the finish line in last place a full 27 minutes behind the winner. His career may well have ended that day, were it not for the influence of his hard working mother, who remains his biggest hero. He credits her with instilling in him the tenacity he needed to not only finish the race but remain on the circuit. It was a humbling experience that strengthened his resolve and set the tone for his career.
To say that he fared considerably better throughout 1993 is an understatement. His 10 titles that year included 1993 World Champion, U.S. PRO Champion, and a stage victory in the prestigious Tour de France. This was a man who clearly thrived on challenge. For the first time in cycling history, a U.S. team, Lance's Team Motorola, was ranked among the top five in the world.
Lance's life took on the routine of a world class cyclist. He spent approximately 8 months a year in Europe on the professional circuit, where the sport is enormously popular. He was attracting legions of fans at every race and learning how to cope with their attention and the increasing curiosity of the media. Off seasons were spent in his adoptive home of Austin, TX where he could enjoy friends and family far away from the glare of the European press.
He continued to grow as an athlete over the ensuing two years, often finding himself as the lone American amongst a field of Europeans. He secured his place in racing history by his victory in the 1993 $1,000,000 Thrift Drug Triple Crown, then winning the 1995 Tour Du Pont, being named the 1995 Velo News American Male Cyclist of the Year, and scoring a dramatic and heartfelt stage 18 win at the 1995 Tour de France in honor of his fallen teammate Fabio Casartelli. In an equally dramatic victory, but one laced with irony, Lance also became the first American to win the Classico San Sebastian -- the very race that nearly ended his career three years earlier. Lance's high profile in the sport enabled him to establish the Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Race Series in 1995. Designed to promote cycling and racing among America's youth, it was his way of giving back to the sport that had shaped his life.
Lance roared into 1996 as the number one ranked cyclist in the world. He recaptured his success at the Tour Du Pont (the first person to do so), was the first American to win the traditional spring classic Fleche Wallone in Belgium, notably competed as a member of the U.S. cycling team in the Atlanta summer Olympic games, signed a lucrative two-year contract with the French Cofidis racing team and moved into a spectacular home that took two years to plan and build in an exclusive sub-division of Austin. Affectionately named "Casa Linda" in honor of his mother, the Mediterranean-style home became his new address when Lance was just four months shy of his 25th birthday... an age when few men achieve such status and recognition and even fewer are faced with their own mortality...
The man who had been featured in attention grabbing headlines such as "Du Pont Dominator" and "The Golden Boy of American Cycling," was forced off his bike in excruciating pain in October of 1996. Tests revealed advanced testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and his brain. A press conference on October 9th announced the stunning news to the world. This athletic and vibrant young man would be operated on three times in the ensuing weeks. Chances for his recovery were 50/50 as a frightened, but determined Lance began the most aggressive form of chemotherapy available. It weakened him beyond anything he had experienced, but he had a deep well of reserves and the unconditional support of family and friends. Remarkably, the chemotherapy began to work and Lance allowed his thoughts to return to racing. He began training only five months after his diagnosis, uncertain of his future in the sport, but a profoundly grateful and resolute man.
Cancer left him scarred physically and emotionally, but he now maintains it was an unexpected gift; a viewpoint that is shared by many cancer survivors. Throughout his life threatening ordeal, Lance knew his priorities were changing. His physical well being, something that had never been challenged, was suddenly fragile. He was given the chance to fully appreciate the blessings of good health, a loving family and close friends. Lance described his bout with cancer as "a special wake-up call." He heeded the call to activism by becoming a spokesperson for testicular and other forms of cancer and by forming the Lance Armstrong Foundation within months of his diagnosis. This international, non-profit Foundation was established to benefit cancer research and promote awareness and early detection.
In May of 1998 Lance celebrated his victory over cancer and his "official" return to U.S. cycling by winning under the lights the Sprint 56K Criterium in the streets of downtown Austin. The race was just one part of IKON's Ride for the Roses, a weekend of cycling and celebration in Austin, Texas benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The month was not only memorable in a professional sense, but personally as well. On May 8, Lance married Kristin Richard of Austin. Their year long romance, which first began at the 1997 Ride for the Roses, culminated in a beautiful ceremony with family and close friends in Santa Barbara, California.
Though Lance's win in the Sprint 56K Criterium marked an important milestone in his comeback to the sport, many were skeptical of his ability to return to professional cycling at all; among them Cofidis, which terminated his contract following the news of his illness. Within months, however, Lance proudly announced a new affiliation with the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling team with whom he rides today. Their faith in him strengthened his resolve to live up to his own and his team's expectations and resume his position as one of the world's top cyclists. And that is exactly what he has done: following the Sprint Criterium, Lance went on to score stunning victories at the Tour de Luxembourg (June, 1998), the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfarht in Germany (July, 1998), the Cascade Classic in Oregon (July, 1998) and not only finished fourth in the Tour of Holland (September, 1998), but a remarkable fourth in the grueling Tour of Spain (September, 1998) ... one of the three most elite races in the world.
He concluded his 1998 season with an overall fourth place finish at the World Championships in Holland. Achieved under brutal weather and racing conditions, only 66 out of 152 riders completed the race. As if that wasn't enough to feel "back in the race", Lance came home to the U.S. and awarded his Foundation's first two grants to cancer research. In excess of $300,000, the gifts were a direct result of funds raised from the 1997 and 1998 Ride for the Roses, which scheduled its third annual weekend in Austin over the Memorial Day holiday.
In addition to his 1999 road race schedule, which added mountain bike racing into the mix of future success, Lance also conducted his third Ride for the Roses in Austin and had his first child Luke David Armstrong with wife Kristin October 12, 1999. His autobiography will be forthcoming in May, 2000 from Putnam Books and a motion picture of his life story is currently in development with film maker Bud Greenspan.
What is undeniable, however, is that Lance has already won the most important race of his life. Perhaps the words that capture his indomitable spirit the best are his own..."It's ironic, I used to ride my bike to make a living. Now I just want to live so that I can ride."
--The Official Site
UNITED STATES