Norman cavalry attacks the Anglo-Saxon shield wall at the Battle of Hastings as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. The lances are held with one-handed over-the-head grip.

A lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the spear/javelin family. They were often equipped with a vamplate, a small circular plate to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact. Though perhaps most known as one of the foremost military and sporting weapons used by European knights, the use of lances was spread throughout the Old World wherever mounts were available. As a secondary weapon, lancers of the period also bore swords, maces or something else suited to close quarter battle, since the lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon; after the initial charge, the weapon was far too long, heavy and slow to be effectively used against opponents in a melee.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology[link]

The name is derived from lancea, Roman auxiliaries' javelin, although according to the OED, the word may be of Iberian origin. Also compare longche, a Greek term for lance.

A lance in the original sense is a light throwing spear, or javelin. The English verb to launch "fling, hurl, throw" is derived from the term (via Old French lancier), as well as the rarer or poetic to lance. The term from the 17th century came to refer specifically to spears not thrown, used for thrusting by heavy cavalry, and especially in jousting. A thrusting spear which is used by infantry is usually referred to as a pike.

History of use[link]

Ancient times[link]

The first use of the lance in this sense was made by the Sarmatian and Parthian cataphracts from ca. the 3rd century BC, and cavalry long thrusting spear was especially popular among the Hellenistic armies' agema and line cavalry.

One of the most effective ancient lanced cavalry units was Alexander the Great's Companion cavalry, who were successful against both heavy infantry and cavalry units.

The Roman cavalry long thrusting spear was called a contus (from Greek language kontos, barge-pole). It was usually 3 to 4 m long, and grasped with both hands. It was employed by equites contariorum and equites catafractarii, fully armed and armoured cataphracts.

Middle ages[link]

The Byzantine cavalry used lances (kontos or kontarion) almost exclusively, often in mixed lancer and mounted archer formations (cursores et defensores). The Byzantines used lance both overarm and underarm, couched.

The best known usage of military lances was that of the full-gallop closed-ranks charge of a group of knights with underarm-couched lances, against lines of infantry, archery regiments, defensive embankments, and opposition cavalry. Two variants on the couched lance charge developed, the French method, en haie, with lancers in a double line and the German method, with lancers drawn up in a deeper formation which was often wedge-shaped. It is commonly believed that this became the dominant European cavalry tactic in the 11th century after the development of the cantled saddle and stirrups (the Great Stirrup Controversy), and of rowel spurs (which enabled better control of the mount). Cavalry thus outfitted and deployed had a tremendous collective force in their charge, and could shatter most contemporary infantry lines. Recent evidence has suggested, however, that the lance charge was effective without the benefit of stirrups.^[1]

Vargas Swamp Lancers memorial in Colombia.

Because of the extreme stopping power of a thrusting spear, it quickly became a popular weapon of footmen in the Late Middle Ages. These eventually led to the rise of the longest type of spears ever, the pike. This adaptation of the cavalry lance to infantry use was largely tasked with stopping lance-armed cavalry charges. During the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, these weapons, both mounted and unmounted, were so effective that lancers and pike men not only became a staple of every Western army, but also became highly sought-after mercenaries.

A lance tip from the reenactment of the famous Eglinton Tournament as found in the nearby Lugton Water in 2008.

In Europe, a jousting lance was a variation of the knight's lance which was modified from its original war design. In jousting, the lance tips would usually be blunt, often spread out like a cup or furniture foot, to provide a wider impact surface designed to unseat the opposing rider without spearing him through. The centre of the shaft of such lances could be designed to be hollow, in order for it to break on impact, as a further safeguard against impalement. They were often 4 m long or longer, and had special hand guards built into the lance, often tapering for a considerable portion of the weapon's length. These are the versions that can most often be seen at medieval reenactment festivals. In war, lances were much more like stout spears, long and balanced for one handed use, and with sharpened tips.

Lance (unit organization)[link]

Main article Lances fournies

As a small unit that surrounded a knight when he went into battle during the 14th and 15th centuries, a lance might have consisted of one or two squires, the knight himself, one to three men-at-arms, and possibly an archer. Lances were often combined under the banner of a higher-ranking nobleman to form companies of knights that would act as an ad-hoc unit.

Renaissance[link]

The mounted lance saw a renaissance in the 18th century with the demise of the pike; heavily armoured cuirassiers used 2 to 3 m lances as their main weapons. They were usually used for the breakneck charge against the enemy infantry.

Decline[link]

The Crimean War saw the most infamous though ultimately unsuccessful use of the lance, the Charge of the Light Brigade.

After the Western introduction of the horse to Native Americans, the Plains Indians also took up the lance, probably independently, as American cavalry of the time were sabre- and pistol-armed, firing forward at full gallop. The natural adaptation of the throwing spear to a stouter thrusting and charging spear appears to be an inevitable evolutionary trend in the military use of the horse, and a rapid one at that.

American cavalry and Canadian North-West Mounted Police used a fine lance as a flagstaff. In 1886, the first official musical ride was performed in Regina, with this fine ceremonial lance playing a significant role in the choreography. The world's oldest continuous mounted police unit in the world, being the New South Wales Mounted Police, housed at Redfern Barracks, Sydney, Australia, carries a lance with a navy blue and white pennant in all ceremonial occasions.

During the Second Boer War, British troops successfully used the lance against the Boers in the first few battles, but the Boers adopted the use of trench warfare, machine guns and long range rifles. The combined effect was devastating, so that British cavalry were remodelled as high mobility infantry units ('dragoons') fighting on foot.

Other weapons[link]

"Lance" is also the name given by some anthropologists to the light flexible javelins (technically, darts) thrown by atlatls (spear-throwing sticks), but these are usually called "atlatl javelins". Some were not much larger than arrows, and were typically feather-fletched like an arrow, and unlike the vast majority of spears and javelins (one exception would be several instances of the many types of ballista bolt, a mechanically-thrown spear).

See also[link]

• Heavy cavalry
• Lances fournies
• Lancer
• Jousting
• Tent pegging
• Hastilude

References[link]

• Delbrück, Hans. History of the Art of War, originally published in 1920; University of Nebraska Press (reprint), 1990 (trans. J. Renfroe Walter). Volume III: Medieval Warfare.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lances

Look up lance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• From Lance to Pistol: The Evolution of Mounted Soldiers from 1550 to 1600 (myArmoury.com article)

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Bradley Marc Wiggins
Nickname	Wiggo
Born	(1980-04-28) 28 April 1980 (age 32) Ghent, Belgium
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight	69 kg (150 lb; 10.9 st)
Team information
Current team	Team Sky
Discipline	Road & Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	GC Contender (Road) and Pursuitist (Track)
Professional team(s)
2001 2002–2003 2004–2005 2006–2007 2008 2009 2010–	Linda McCartney Racing Team Française des Jeux Crédit Agricole Cofidis Team High Road Garmin-Slipstream Team Sky
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 1 Individual Stage Stage Races Critérium du Dauphiné (2011) Paris–Nice (2012) Tour de Romandie (2012) Single-Day Races and Classics National Road Race Champion (2011) National Time Trial Champion (2009, 2010)
Medal record Competitor for  Great Britain Road bicycle racing World Championships Silver 2011 Copenhagen Time trial Track cycling Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Team pursuit Gold 2008 Beijing Individual pursuit Gold 2004 Athens Individual pursuit Silver 2004 Athens Team pursuit Bronze 2004 Athens Madison Bronze 2000 Sydney Team pursuit World Championships Gold 2003 Stuttgart Individual pursuit Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Individual pursuit Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Individual pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Team pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Madison Silver 2000 Manchester Team pursuit Silver 2001 Antwerp Team pursuit Silver 2003 Stuttgart Team pursuit Bronze 2002 Ballerup Team pursuit Competitor for  England Commonwealth Games Silver 2002 Manchester 4km Individual pursuit Silver 2002 Manchester Team pursuit Silver 1998 Kuala Lumpur Team pursuit
Infobox last updated on 29 April 2012

Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines.

He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, three further medals at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, and two golds at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. In road cycling he turned professional in 2002, but his involvement was limited by his track cycling until 2007.

After the 2008 Olympics Wiggins took a break from the track to focus on the road. Initially viewed as a time-trial specialist and a rouleur, Wiggins showed his ability in stage races when he came in fourth at the 2009 Tour de France, the joint highest placed finish by a British rider in Tour history. In 2010 he was hired as the leader for the new Team Sky, and later that year was inducted in to the London Youth Games Hall of Fame. To date his biggest wins have been the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné – the first British rider to win the race since 1990 – and the 2012 Paris–Nice, the first British winner of the race in 45 years. Wiggins finished 3rd in the 2011 Vuelta a España, becoming one of three British riders to make the podium in a Grand Tour. Ten days later, Wiggins won the silver medal in the Time Trial at the World Road Cycling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that helped Mark Cavendish win the 2011 UCI World Road Race Championship.

Early years and family life[link]

The son of a professional cyclist, Gary Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins was born in Ghent, Belgium and spent his childhood in London with his mother Linda, stepfather Brendon and younger brother, Ryan. He started racing at south London's Herne Hill Velodrome aged 12, and represented Camden in the London Youth Games as a youngster. In 2010 he was inducted in to the London Youth Games Hall of Fame.^{[2] [3]} He lives in Eccleston, Lancashire. He married his wife Catherine in Manchester in November 2004 and has two children, Ben and Isabella.^[4] Wiggins is a well-known mod,^[5][6] and owns a collection of classic scooters and guitars from the 1960s and 1970s.^[7] In April 2012 it was announced Wiggins would collaborate with Fred Perry "to develop an authentic, non technical range of off cycle wear".^[8]

Career[link]

Wiggins at the 2008 Tour of Britain

At 20, Wiggins won a bronze medal for Britain in the team pursuit at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

In 2001 he signed for the British professional road Linda McCartney Racing Team before it disbanded in early 2001.^[9] He joined Française des Jeux in 2002, before moving to Crédit Agricole in 2004.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Wiggins became the first British athlete in 40 years to win three medals at one Games, the last being Mary Rand at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He won the gold in the pursuit, silver in the team pursuit, and bronze in the madison with his race partner Rob Hayles. Wiggins was appointed OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to sport.^[9]

In 2005, Wiggins rode Giro d'Italia for Crédit Agricole. He moved to Cofidis in 2006, and rode that year's Tour de France. He returned to the track for the Manchester round of the UCI World Cup and the world championships in 2007, winning the individual and team pursuit. He followed on the road by winning the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

He raced for Cofidis in the 2007 Tour de France and finished fourth in the prologue in London. He won the combativity award on stage six for a long solo breakaway. Cofidis withdrew after Cristian Moreni failed a doping test.^[10]

2008[link]

In 2008 he signed with Team High Road, a team later known as HTC-Highroad. At the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester, he won three gold medals: pursuit, team pursuit and madison.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he again won the pursuit, the first rider to successfully defend a pursuit title at the Olympics. On 17 August, he was a member of the Olympic pursuit team which broke the world record in the heats with 3:55:202, beating Russia to the ride-off for silver and gold.^[11] The following day, the team won the gold with a world record of 3:53:314, beating Denmark by 6.7s.^[12] Wiggins paired up with Mark Cavendish in the madison and finished ninth.^[13]

In October 2008 he published his autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory^[14] and joined the Garmin-Slipstream team for the 2009 season.^[15]

On 14 December 2008 Wiggins came ninth in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award with 5,633 votes.^[16] On 31 December Wiggins was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.^[17]

2009[link]

Bradley Wiggins at the 2009 Tour de France

After finishing the 2009 Giro d'Italia 71st, which included second place in the final stage, Wiggins arrived at the 2009 Tour de France having lost six kilos.^[18][19] He came third in the opening time-trial in Monaco and helped Garmin to second place in the team time-trial despite losing four riders. In the first mountain finish, Wiggins finished 12th, and at 5th place overall entering the second week, had the highest second-week place by a British rider since Robert Millar. On the second mountain finish, in Verbier, Wiggins finished fifth to climb to third overall. He was attacked by the Schleck brothers on stage 17 and dropped to sixth, but moved to fourth in the stage 18 time-trial. On stage 20 to Mont Ventoux, Wiggins finished tenth and held fourth by three seconds ahead of Frank Schleck. He held that position in the final stage, equalling Robert Millar's highest ever finish by a British rider in the Tour.^[20]

Wiggins won the British National Time Trial Championships in September 2009.^[21]

In October 2009, he won the Herald Sun Tour after helping team-mates most of the race. He led after winning the stage five time-trial in Geelong by 14 seconds over team-mate Svein Tuft.

Wiggins had been contracted to ride for Garmin Slipstream in 2010, but following much speculation it was announced in December 2009 that he was to leave to join Team Sky, having signed a four year contract with the new British based team.^[22]

2010[link]

Wiggins in the opening time trial of the 2010 Giro d'Italia

Wiggins began 2010 as a team leader for the first time. He was part of the team who won the team time trial on stage one of the 2010 Tour of Qatar. On May 10, he took his first major win of the year, in the opening time trial^[23] of the Giro d'Italia and took the maglia rosa leader's jersey. It was his first win at a Grand Tour. He lost the jersey on stage 2 to Cadel Evans following a crash-marred stage.^[24] He lost further time early on in the Giro, but recovered much of it on stage 11, in which he finished fourth. He faded quickly towards the end of the race, however, losing a lot of time over the final stages to finish 40th.

Wiggins entered the 2010 Tour de France with high expectations following his 4th place the year before. His Tour got off to a disappointing start however, when he could only manage 77th place in the opening prologue, after an early starting position left him exposed to poor conditions.^[25] Wiggins finished 8th on Stage 3, as cobblestones caught out a number of favourites.^[26] However, in Stage 8 (the first mountain summit finish of the Tour), Wiggins could only manage 19th place, losing 1 minute 45 seconds to stage winner Andy Schleck.^[27] Wiggins lost even more time the next day, on Stage 9, where he came 30th (losing 4 minutes 55 to the main contenders),^[28] which effectively ended hopes of a top 10 finish. He finished the Tour in 24th place, 39 minutes 24 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador, and 7 places behind team-mate Thomas Löfkvist. Contador was later found guilty of doping and the title of 2010 Tour De France winner was passed to second placed Andy Schleck. ^[29]

Wiggins retained the British national time trial title at the National Championships.^[30]

2011[link]

Wiggins was again team leader of Sky entering 2011. He opted against entering the 2011 Giro d'Italia, concentrating instead on shorter events and the classics, before undertaking altitude training to improve his climbing for the Tour de France.^[31] Wiggins finished 3rd overall in Paris-Nice after finishing 2nd in Stage 6.^[32] In March, he finished 2nd on the TT Stage 3 of the Critérium International. Wiggins won the ITT Stage 4 of Bayern-Rundfahrt, and finished the event in 14th place overall (and helping team-mate Geraint Thomas to win the event),^[33] before heading off for altitude training in preparation for the Tour de France. He took the overall lead of the Critérium du Dauphiné after finishing 2nd on the ITT Stage 3.^[34] On the final three mountain stages Wiggins was able to maintain his lead over second placed Cadel Evans (who would go on to win the Tour de France) to win Dauphiné, his biggest victory in road racing.^[35] On 26 June, Wiggins won the British National Road Race Championships,^[36] his final race before the Tour de France. On 8 July, he crashed out of the 2011 Tour de France on stage 7 with a broken collarbone.^[37]

Wiggins took his biggest road racing victory to date at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné

Following recovery from his injuries, it was confirmed by Team Sky that Wiggins would ride Vuelta a España for the first time,^[38] as well as the World Time Trial Championships. Wiggins also confirmed he would ride the 2012 Tour de France, despite the London Olympics coming soon after, and the Vuelta/ Time Trial Championships was seen as a dress-rehearsal for 2012.^[39]

Wiggins had a difficult start to the Vuelta as Sky finished 42 seconds back on the opening Team Time Trial in Benidorm.^[40] However, a strong first week brought Wiggins back into contention, leaving him 19th overall after Stage 8.^[41] On Stage 9, Wiggins and teammate Chris Froome attacked on the final climb to finish 4th and 5th respectively, and taking time out of Joaquim Rodríguez, Michele Scarponi and other contenders.^[42] The stage moved both riders up in the standings, and Wiggins was expected to take the overall lead on the time trial the following day. However, Froome sprung a major surprise, finishing second on the stage, taking the red jersey for himself, whilst Wiggins rose to third overall.^[43] Wiggins took the leaders jersey, after the rest day. After losing a few seconds to Vincenzo Nibali on the following days, Stage 14 saw Wiggins and Froome taking time out of most of their rivals, with Nibali losing over a minute.^[44] Wiggins lost the lead of the Vuelta to Juan José Cobo on Stage 15, where he finished 5th on the climb up the Angliru.^[45] The Stage saw Wiggins drop to 3rd in the standings, with Froome ahead in second. Wiggins finished the Vuelta in 3rd overall, his first grand tour podium.^[46]

In September, Wiggins finished second behind Tony Martin in the UCI Road World Championship Time Trial to take the silver medal.^[47] Four days later, Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that set up Mark Cavendish's victory in the Road Race.^[48]

2012[link]

Although 2012 is an Olympic year, Wiggins' focus remains on road racing. The individual pursuit is no longer an Olympic event, and in December 2011 coach Rod Ellingworth told The Guardian, "The chances of him doing the team pursuit are really slim now". ^[49] Wiggins is more likely to compete in the Olympic Road Race and Time Trial. Wiggins began his 2012 season with third place in the Volta ao Algarve, including victory in the race-concluding individual time trial, edging out world champion Tony Martin by less than a second.^[50] Wiggins also helped with team-mate Richie Porte's successful bid to win the race overall. In March, Wiggins finished second to Vacansoleil-DCM's Gustav Larsson in the opening time trial of Paris–Nice, despite setting his time in wet conditions. The following day he took the lead of the race after being part of a 30-man breakaway as the peloton split into echelons. He held the lead for the rest of the race, winning the final stage, a time-trial on the Col d'Èze,^[51] despite a strong challenge from Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra, of the Vacansoleil-DCM team. Starting the final 9.6 km (6.0 mi) stage with a 6-second lead, Wiggins beat Westra's time by two seconds, to win the race by eight seconds overall, becoming the first British rider to win the race since Tom Simpson in 1967.^[52] His final stage victory was also good enough to give him the points classification ahead of Alejandro Valverde.^[53]

On Stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie in April, Wiggins took a rare sprint victory from a group of 59 riders to take the race lead.^[54] He lost the jersey to Luis León Sánchez after the Spaniard won two consecutive stages.^[55] However, Wiggins won the final time trial, despite suffering a dropped chain, to take overall victory.^[56] He is the first British rider to win the event.

Palmarès[link]

Olympic Games[link]

World Championships[link]

Commonwealth Games[link]

2002 Commonwealth Games

Silver, 4km individual pursuit

Silver, team pursuit

1998 Commonwealth Games

Silver, team pursuit

Professional cycling – major achievements[link]

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline[link]

Grand Tour	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Giro	123	-	-	134	71	40	-
Tour	-	124	WD	-	4	24	WD
Vuelta	-	-	-	-	-	-	3

WD = withdrew

World records[link]

• 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:55:202, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008
• 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:53:314, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008

Other achievements[link]

• London Youth Games

• Hall of Fame member (Class of 2010)^[57]

Quotes[link]

• "Most people were too drunk to notice me." On his experiences of late-night practice runs for the London leg of the Tour de France.^[58]

• "It is nice to be recognised for actually achieving something in life as opposed to spending seven weeks in a house on TV with a load of other muppets." A reference to the television programme, Big Brother, after finishing fourth in the Tour de France prologue.^[59]

• "I think that when you sit back and look at the season and see what has happened, I think you reflect on it with a bit of happiness, but when you finish third, you haven't won and we live for winning unfortunately." On finishing third in the 2011 Vuelta a España.^[60]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bradley Wiggins

• @bradwiggins on Twitter
• MTC management profile
• Cycling Weekly – Rider Profile

Lance Armstrong

Armstrong at the Tour de France 2010
Personal information
Full name	Lance Edward Armstrong
Nickname	The Boss, Juan Pelota, Big Tex, The Texan,[1] Mellow Johnny (from maillot jaune, French for yellow jersey)[2]
Born	(1971-09-18) September 18, 1971 (age 40) Plano, Texas, United States
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[3]
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)[3]
Team information
Current team	Livestrong
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-Rounder
Amateur team(s)
1990–1991 1991	Subaru-Montgomery US National Team
Professional team(s)
1992–1996 1997 1998–2004 2005 2006–2008 2009 2010–2011 2012–	Motorola Cofidis US Postal Discovery Channel Livestrong Astana Team RadioShack Livestrong
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France General Classification (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) 22 Individual Stages Stage Races Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré General Classification (2002, 2003) Points classification (2005) Tour de Suisse General classification (2001) Tour de Luxembourg General classification (1998) Single-Day Races and Classics Cycling World Champion (1993) US National Cycling Champion (1993) Clásica de San Sebastián (1995) La Flèche Wallonne (1996)
Medal record Competitor for USA Men's Cycling World Championships Gold 1993 Oslo Elite Men's Road Race Olympic Games Bronze 2000 Sydney Men's Time Trial
Infobox last updated on July 26, 2008

Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He last rode for UCI ProTeam Team RadioShack, a team he helped found.

In October 1996 he was diagnosed as having testicular cancer with a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005, and is the only person to win seven times having broken the previous record of five wins shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil.

In 1999, he was named the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports.^[4] In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong announced his retirement from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009 and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. He confirmed he had retired from competitive cycling for good on February 16, 2011.^[5]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Plano, Texas in the southern sector of Dallas.^[6] At the age of 12, he began his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He abandoned swimming-only competition after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he entered and won at age 13.^[7]

In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was Chann McRae, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion. Armstrong's points total for 1987 as an amateur was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.^[8]

It became clear that his greatest talent was for bicycle racing after he won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1991. Representing the U.S., he finished 14th in the 1992 Summer Olympics. This performance earned him his first professional contract with Motorola. He won his first race with Motorola, the Trophee Laigueglia in Italy, beating the favourite Moreno Argentin.

In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races. He stunned the cycling world when at age 21 he became one of the youngest riders to ever win the UCI Road World Championship, held in pouring rain in Norway that year. Prior to his World's win, he took his first stage win at the Tour de France, in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to Verdun. He was in 97th place overall when he abandoned the 1993 race in the Alps after the 12th stage.

He also collected the Thrift Drug Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO national championship in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to a rider winning all three races, a feat previously unachieved. At the USPRO championship, Armstrong sat up on his bicycle on the final lap, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.

In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the Tour DuPont in the United States. His successes in Europe were second placings in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Clásica de San Sebastián, where just two years before, he finished in last place as his first all-pro event in Europe.

He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, and this time won the Tour DuPont and took a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to Limoges in the Tour De France. He dedicated the win to teammate Fabio Casartelli who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet on the 15th stage, two days before.

Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour DuPont. However, his performances began to suffer and he was only able to compete for five days in the Tour De France. At Atlanta he was only able to finish 6th in the time trial and 12th in the road race in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Cancer[link]

On October 2, 1996, then aged 25, Armstrong was diagnosed as having developed stage three testicular cancer (Embryonal carcinoma).^[9] The cancer spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. On that first visit to a urologist in Austin, Texas, for his cancer symptoms he was coughing up blood and had a large, painful testicular tumor. Immediate surgery and chemotherapy were required to save his life. Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove his diseased testicle. After his surgery, his doctor stated that he had less than a 40% survival chance.^[10]

The standard chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of this type of cancer is a cocktail of the drugs bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (or Platinol) (BEP). Armstrong, however, chose an alternative, etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin (VIP), to avoid the lung toxicity associated with the drug bleomycin.^[10] This decision may have saved his cycling career. His primary treatment was received at the Indiana University (IU), Indianapolis, Medical Center, where Dr. Lawrence Einhorn had pioneered the use of cisplatinum to treat testicular cancer. His primary oncologist there was Dr. Craig Nichols.^[10] His brain tumors were surgically removed by Scott A. Shapiro, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery at Indiana University and Resident Director, and were found to contain extensive necrosis.^[11] According to Armstrong's first book, Dr. Shapiro convinced him that he was the right neurosurgeon for him by saying: "You'll have to convince me you know what you're doing," said Armstrong. "Look, I've done a large number of these," Shapiro said, "I've never had anyone die, and I've never made anyone worse." "Yeah, but why should you be the person who operates on my head?" Armstrong responded. "Because as good as you are at cycling"-he paused-"I'm a lot better at brain surgery".^[10] His last chemotherapy treatment was received on December 13, 1996.

His cancer went into complete remission, and by January 1998 he was already engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe to race for the U.S. Postal team. A pivotal week (April 1998) in his comeback was one he spent training in the very challenging Appalachian terrain around Boone, North Carolina, with his racing friend Bob Roll.^[10]

Tour de France success[link]

Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had won two Tour de France stages. In 1993, he won the 8th stage and in 1995 he took stage 18 in honor of teammate Fabio Casartelli who crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of the 1996 Tour on the 7th stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis.

Armstrong finishing 3rd in Sète, taking over the Yellow Jersey at Grand Prix Midi Libre

Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 when he finished fourth in the Vuelta a España. In 1999 he won the Tour de France, including four stages. He beat the second rider, Alex Zülle, by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and Marco Pantani (drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names. Stage wins included the prologue, stage eight, an individual time trial in Metz, 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 that began a six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong 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.

The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only 1 minute 1 second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the team time trial on stage four, while Armstrong took stage 15, despite being knocked off on the ascent 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.^[12]

In 2004, Armstrong finished first, 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of German Andreas Klöden. 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 since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up Alpe d'Huez was won in style by Armstrong as he passed Ivan Basso on the way despite setting 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.

In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by David Zabriskie in the Stage 1 time trial by 2 seconds, despite passing 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 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. But still, the American champion handled them well, maintained his lead and, on some occasions, increased it. To complete his record-breaking feat, Armstrong crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his 7th consecutive Tour, finishing 4m 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 being 41.7 km/h(26 mph).^[13][14]

On July 24, 2005, Armstrong officially announced his retirement from professional cycling after his 7th consecutive Tour de France win.^[15]

Comeback[link]

Astana: 2009[link]

Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008 that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France.^[16] "After talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden", Armstrong said on his livestrong.org website.^[17] VeloNews reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online.^[18]

Armstrong on November 11, 2008 at an informal time trial near New Braunfels, Texas

The announcement ended speculation that he would return with Astana in the Tour of California, Paris–Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphiné-Libéré. Astana missed the 2008 Tour de France after Alexandre Vinokourov was ejected from the 2007 Tour for blood doping.

Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008 that Armstrong would compete in the UCI Tour Down Under through Adelaide 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.^[19] The Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, declared that Armstrong's participation would make the tour "the biggest sporting event in South Australian history."^[20]

In October 2008, Armstrong confirmed he would compete in the 2009 Giro d'Italia, his first participation.^[21]

On January 17, Armstrong said at a press conference for the Tour Down Under that his comeback was motivated by spending most of his days spreading the Livestrong message and raising national awareness of cancer.^[22][23] Though his fitness levels had supposedly returned to peak condition,^[24] Armstrong placed 29th in the race.^[25] Armstrong said he considered this a successful result, as the thousands of fans who flocked to Adelaide to see him compete – booking every hotel room in the city^[24] – added A$17 million to the South Australian economy, and the government rewarded his effort by pledging A$4.1 million towards the construction of a centre for cancer research.^[26]

Armstrong's Trek bicycle was stolen while he was in Sacramento, California, for the Amgen Tour of California. This time-trial bike was returned to the Sacramento police by an anonymous citizen on February 18, 2009, four days after it disappeared from the Astana team truck. A police statement read, "The facts surrounding how the person came into possession of the bicycle are not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation."^[27]

In February 2009, Armstrong was confirmed to compete in the Tour of Ireland from August 19–23, 2009, before then participating in the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit from August 24–26th in Dublin.^[28] The Astana Cycling team confirmed in early March that Armstrong would return to Europe to continue his comeback season with races at Milan – San Remo and the Vuelta a Castilla y León.^[29] 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.^[30]

Armstrong flew back to Austin, Texas, for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation.^[31] On April 10, 2009, a controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager, Johan Bruyneel, stemming from a March 17, 2009 encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. 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.^[32] Armstrong returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on April 29.^[33]

On July 7, in the fourth stage of the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the team time trial. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of Montpellier but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second (0.22) outside of Fabian Cancellara's overall lead.^[34] Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France in third place overall, 5:24 behind the overall winner, his Astana teammate Alberto Contador.

Team RadioShack: 2010–11[link]

On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010.^[35] RadioShack was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named Team RadioShack.^[36][37] Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the 2010 Tour Down Under where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders that completed the race. He made his European season debut at the 2010 Vuelta a Murcia finishing in 7th place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan – San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Tour of Flanders, but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races.^[38] Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Amgen Tour of California, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside Visalia early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race.^[39] He showed fine shape after recovering from the Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg.

On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France.^[40] Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour de France prologue TT, finishing third, but was plagued by crashes in later stages that put him out of GC contention, especially a serious crash in stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyreneean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate Chris Horner. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind former winner Alberto Contador.^[41] 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 international career after the Tour Down Under of January 2011. He stated that after January 2011 he will only race in the U.S. with the Radioshack domestic team.^[42]

Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling 'for good' on February 16, 2011, while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations.^[5][43]

Physical attributes[link]

Armstrong has recorded an aerobic capacity of 83.8 mL/kg/min (VO₂ max),^[44][45] much higher than the average person (40–50), but lower than some other Tour De France winners, such as Miguel Indurain (88.0, although reports exist that Indurain tested at 92–94) and Greg LeMond (92.5).^[46] At his peak, he had a resting heart rate of 32–34 beats per minute (bpm) with a maximum heart rate of 201 bpm.^[47]

Collaboration of sponsors[link]

Armstrong revolutionized the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of the team.^[48] 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 relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One",^[49] taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek, Nike, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek company), Shimano, Sram, Giro and Oakley, collaborated for an array of products.

Family and personal life[link]

Armstrong was born to Linda Mooneyham, a secretary, and Eddie Charles Gunderson, a route manager for The Dallas Morning News. His great-grandfather was the son of Norwegian immigrants.^[50] He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His father left his mother when Lance was two and has two other children from another relationship. His mother later married Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance in 1974. Armstrong refuses to meet his birth father.^[51]

Armstrong (center) on the set of College GameDay during the 2006 UT football season

Armstrong met Kristin Richard in June 1997. They married on May 1, 1998 and had three children: Luke David, born October 1999, and twins Isabelle Rose and Grace Elisabeth, born November 2001. The pregnancy was possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, prior to chemotherapy and surgery.^[52] The couple filed for divorce in September 2003. At Armstrong's request, his children flew in for the Tour de France podium ceremony in 2005, where Luke helped his father hoist the trophy, while his daughters (in yellow dresses) held the stuffed lion mascot and bouquet of yellow flowers.

Armstrong began dating singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow in the autumn of 2003 and revealed their relationship in January 2004. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006.

In December 2008, Armstrong announced that his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, was pregnant with his child. The couple started dating in July 2008 after meeting through Armstrong's charity work. Although it was believed that Armstrong could no longer father children, after having undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer, this child was conceived naturally.^[53] The baby boy, Maxwell Edward Armstrong, was born on June 4, 2009 in Aspen, Colorado. Armstrong announced the birth via Twitter.^[54] Armstrong has become a popular Twitter user, with precisely 3,385,486 followers on April 10, 2012. ^[55]

In April 2010, Armstrong, using Twitter, announced that Anna Hansen was having his fifth child. Olivia Marie Armstrong was born October 18, 2010.^[56]

Armstrong owns homes in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado, as well as a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.^[57] Armstrong is a fan of the University of Texas Longhorns college football program and is often seen on the sidelines supporting the team.

With regard to religion, he is agnostic, quoted as saying, "at the end of the day, if there was indeed some body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a god at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, 'But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven.' If so, I was going to reply, 'You know what? You're right. Fine.' "^[58]

Allegations of doping[link]

For much of the second phase of his career, Armstrong has faced persistent allegations of doping. A number of high-profile cyclists and assorted journalists have alleged that he cheated. However, no allegations have ever been substantiated, and Armstrong retains respect and prestige in many circles.^[59]

In addition, Armstrong has been criticised for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as Paul Kimmage^[60][61] and Christophe Bassons.^[62][63] Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the peloton. 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?'"^[64] 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".^[65] Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became a sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a "cancer in cycling".^[63] 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.^[63] This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in The Sunday Times.^[66]

Armstrong has continually denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs and has described himself as the most tested athlete in the world.^[67] A 1999 urine sample showed traces of corticosteroid in an amount that was not in the positive range. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance.^[68]

From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities. All of the tests were negative for performance-enhancing drugs.^[69][70]

U.S. federal prosecutors pursued allegations of doping by Armstrong from 2010–2012. The effort convened a grand jury to investigate doping charges, including taking statements under oath from Armstrong's former team members and other associates; met with officials from France, Belgium, Spain, and Italy; and requested samples from the French anti-doping agency. The investigation was led by federal agent Jeff Novitzky, who also investigated suspicions of steroid use by baseball players Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. The probe was terminated on Feb 3, 2012 with no charges filed.^[71]

Specific allegations[link]

Armstrong has been criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari. Greg LeMond described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said, "I am not happy the two names are mixed."^[72] Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong 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."^[73] Ferrari was later absolved of all charges by an Italian appeals court of the sporting fraud charges as well as charges of abusing his medical license to write prescriptions. The court stated that it overturned his conviction "because the facts do not exist" to support the charges.^[74] Ferrari, however, is still banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation. According to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as recently as 2010 in a country outside of Italy.^[75]

In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs (L. A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong). It contains allegations by Armstrong's former masseuse, Emma O'Reilly, who claimed Armstrong once asked her to dispose of used syringes and to give him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms.^[76] 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.^[77][78] Allegations in the book were reprinted in the UK newspaper The Sunday Times in a story by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong 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."^[79] 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." (See also^[80] in The Guardian). The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published "L.A. Official" and "Le Sale Tour" (The Dirty Trick), further cementing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.

On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief^[81] 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 while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain.^[82] 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.^[83] The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.^[84]

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 6 urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods.^[85][86] 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."^[87] In October 2008, the AFLD gave Armstrong the opportunity to have samples taken during the 1998 and 1999 Tours de France retested.^[88] Armstrong immediately refused, saying, "the samples have not been maintained properly." Head of AFLD Pierre Bordry stated: "Scientifically there is no problem to analyze these samples – everything is correct" and "If the analysis is clean it would have been very good for him. But he doesn't want to do it and that's his problem."^[89] However, according to the results of an investigative report by Emile Vrijman (a Dutch lawyer and the former head of the Dutch anti-doping agency, which he headed for ten years), who was appointed by the UCI to head an independent investigations into the LNDD lab’s findings, it was determined that the analysis of the urine samples were conducted improperly and that they “did not satisfy any standard for doping control testing.”^[90][91] Vrijman’s report went on to state that handling and testing of the samples fell so far short of scientific standards, and that “the process that generated those results and the subsequent reports was so deficient” that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest that the results could "constitute evidence of anything,” and cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing.^{[91][92][93][94]} But WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.".^[95]

In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde reported claims by Betsy and Frankie Andreu during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a Texas 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, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone."^[96] 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.^[97] The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols,^[98] or his medical history. According to Greg LeMond (who has been embroiled with his own disputes with Armstrong), he (LeMond) had a recorded conversation,^[99] the transcript of which was reviewed by National Public Radio, 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 allegations on the issue and denied under oath that the incident in question ever occurred in her sworn testimony.^[96]

In July 2006, the Los Angeles Times published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case.^[100] The report cited evidence at the trial including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness.^[101] From the LA Times article: "The results, Australian researcher Michael Ashenden testified in Dallas, show Armstrong's levels rising and falling, consistent with a series of injections during the Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told arbitrators the results painted a "compelling picture" that the world's most famous cyclist "used EPO in the '99 Tour."^[102] Ashenden's finding were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the LNDD test results. The LA Times article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy and instant messaging conversation between Andreu and Jonathan Vaughters 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 LA Times reported: "Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless." The L.A. 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."^[103]

On May 20, 2010, former U.S. Postal teammate Floyd Landis accused Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003, and claimed that U.S. Postal team director Johan Bruyneel had bribed former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to keep quiet about a positive Armstrong test in 2002.^[104][105] Landis admitted there was no documentation that supports these claims.^[106] However, in July 2010 the president of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, revealed that Armstrong made two donations to the UCI: $25,000 in 2002, used by the juniors anti-doping program, and $100,000 in 2005, to buy a blood testing machine, and documentation of those payments does exist.^[107] Landis also maintains that he witnessed Armstrong receiving multiple blood transfusions, and dispensing testosterone patches to his teammates on the United States Postal Service Team.^[108] On May 25, 2010, The International Cycling Union disputed comments from Floyd Landis, "Due to the controversy following the statements made by Floyd Landis, the International Cycling Union wishes to stress that none of the tests revealed the presence of EPO in the samples taken from riders at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland," the UCI said in a statement. "The UCI has all the documentation to prove this fact." According to ESPN, "Landis claimed that Armstrong tested positive while winning in 2002, a timeline Armstrong himself said left him 'confused,' because he did not compete in the event in 2002."^[109]

On May 19, 2011, former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton told CBS News that he and Armstrong had together taken EPO before and during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours de France. Armstrong's attorney, Mark Fabiani, responded that Hamilton was lying.^[110] The accompanying 60 Minutes investigation alleges that two other former Armstrong teammates, Frankie Andreu and George Hincapie, have told federal investigators that they witnessed Armstrong taking banned substances, including EPO, or supplied Armstrong with such substances.^[111] Fabiani stated in response that, "We have no way of knowing what happened in the grand jury and so can't comment on these anonymously sourced reports."^[112] Hamilton further claimed that Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour de Suisse; 60 Minutes reported that the Union Cycliste Internationale intervened to conceal those test results, and that donations from Armstrong totaling US$125,000 may have played into said actions.^[113] Martial Saugy, chief of the Swiss anti-doping agency, later confirmed that they found four urine samples suspicious of EPO use at the 2001 race, but said there was no "positive test" and claimed not to know whether the suspicious results belonged to Armstrong. As a result, Armstrong's lawyers demanded an apology from 60 Minutes.^[114] Instead of apologizing, CBS News chairman Jeff Fager said CBS News stands by its report as "truthful, accurate and fair", and added that the suspicious tests which Saugy confirmed to exist have been linked to Armstrong "by a number of international officials".^[115]

On February 2, 2012, U.S. federal prosecutors officially dropped their investigation with no charges.^[116]

Handling of urine tests[link]

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.^[90] Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing.^[92][93] 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."^[94] 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.^[91] The WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.".^[95] The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured Dick Pound, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong.

In April 2009, Dr. Michael Ashenden said that "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."^[117]

Dr. Michael Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report "According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same (chronological) order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage." The Vrijman report also says "Le Monde of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France".^[91]

Armstrong's work outside of cycling[link]

In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation has become one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research in the U.S., raising more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets^[118] During his original 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.

In 2007, Armstrong with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charity which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.^[119] In 2008 and 2009 he appeared on the PBS Kids show Arthur as himself. In these two appearances he taught biking skills and helped spread cancer awareness, respectively.

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 personally addressed the riders the Friday evening before the two-day ride and helped the ride raise millions for cancer research.^[120]

Marathon[link]

Armstrong ran the 2006 New York City Marathon with friends Robert McElligott and Lewis Miles. With Nike, he assembled a pace team of Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj to help him reach 3 hours. He struggled with shin splints and was on pace for a little above 3 hours but pushed through the last 5 miles (8.0 km) to 2h 59m 36s, finishing 856th. He said the race was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. "For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done. I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness."^[121] The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event.^[122] This camera, 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 campaign during the run.

Armstrong ran the 2007 NYC Marathon in 2h 46m 43s finishing 232nd.^[123] On April 21, 2008, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2h 50m 58s, finishing in the top 500.^[124]

Triathlon[link]

Armstrong made his return to triathlon in the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Panama race, on February 12, 2012. He raced in the Professional category, finishing with a time of 3:50:55, 2nd overall to Bevan Docherty.^[125] Armstrong's splits were 19:22 for the 1.2 mile swim, 2:10:18 for the 56 mile bike, and 1:17:01 for the run.^[126] He also entered half-Ironman distance races in Texas (7th^[127]) and St. Croix (3rd^[128]) before breaking through with a victory at Ironman 70.3 Florida in an overall time of 3:45:38^[129]. Armstrong also plans to race in Ironman France in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 World Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii.^[130]

Politics[link]

President George W. Bush and Armstrong mountain biking at the president's Prairie Chapel Ranch

In the New York Times, teammate George Hincapie hinted that Armstrong would run for Governor of Texas after cycling. In the July 2005 issue of Outside, Armstrong hinted at running for governor, although "not in '06".^[131] Armstrong and former president George W. Bush, a Republican and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. Bush called Armstrong in France to congratulate him after his 2005 victory, and in August 2005, The Times reported the President had invited Armstrong to his Prairie Chapel Ranch to go mountain biking.^[132] In a 2003 interview with The Observer, Armstrong said: "He's a personal friend, but we've all got the right not to agree with our friends."^[133]

In August 2005, Armstrong hinted he had changed his mind about politics. In an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the commitment that led him to retire from cycling. Again, on August 16, 2005, Armstrong told a local Austin CBS affiliate^[134] that he was no longer considering politics:

"The biggest problem with politics or running for the governor—the governor's race here in Austin or in Texas—is that it would mimic exactly what I've done: a ton of stress and a ton of time away from my kids. Why would I want to go from pro cycling, which is stressful and a lot of time away, straight into politics?"^{[citation needed]}

He does intend to be involved in politics as an activist for change in cancer policies, however. In a May 2006 interview with Sports Illustrated, Armstrong is quoted: "I need to run for one office, the presidency of the Cancer Fighters' Union of the World."^{[citation needed]} Sports Illustrated quoted Armstrong that he fears halving his influence with legislators if he chose one side in politics. His foundation lobbies on behalf of cancer patients before United States Congress.

Armstrong is currently co-chair of a California campaign committee to pass the California Cancer Research Act, a ballot measure to be decided by California voters on June 5, 2012.^[135] If passed, the measure is projected to generate over $500 million dollars annually for cancer research by levying a new $1-per-pack tax on tobacco products in California. Revenues will also be spent on smoking-cessation programs, and tobacco law-enforcement.^[136]

Teams and victories[link]

Filmography[link]

• The Road to Paris (himself, 2000 documentary)
• Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (himself, cameo)

Accolades[link]

• United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)
• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens International Trophy (2000)
• Reuters Sportsman of the Year (2003)
• Prince of Asturias Award in Sports (2000)
• Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport (2003)
• Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year (2003)
• Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year (2000)
• Trophee de L'Academie des Sport [France] (2004)
• Vélo d'Or Award by Velo Magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
• Mendrisio d'Or Award in Switzerland (1999)
• Premio Coppi-Bici d'Oro Trophy by the Fausto Coppi foundation in conjunction with La Gazzetta dello Sport (1999, 2000)
• Marca Legend Award by Marca, a Spanish sports daily in Madrid (2004)
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award (2003)
• ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
• ESPY Award for GMC Professional Grade Play Award (2005)
• ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete (2000)
• ESPN/Intersport's ARETE Award for Courage in Sport (Professional Division) (1999)
• ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year (1999)
• Favorite Athlete award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (2006)
• Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)^[137]
• Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year (2002)
• VeloNews magazine's International Cyclist of the Year (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
• VeloNews magazine's North American Male Cyclist of the Year (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005)
• William Hill Sports Book of the Year: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (2000)^[138]
• Union Cycliste Internationale: World Number 1 Ranked Elite Men's Cyclist (1996)
• Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988)
• Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006)
• An asteroid, 1994 JE₉ was named 12373 Lancearmstrong in honor of him.
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Tufts University (2006)
• Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award presented by the United States Sports Academy (1999)

See also[link]

• Cycling records
• List of doping cases in cycling
• List of sportspeople cleared of doping charges

References[link]