Don't Miss

India's CWG 2026 Medal Tally Lowest In 24 Years, Yet Among The Best

Tactical Self-Destruction: How England Threw Away Their World Cup Final Dream

Bundesliga Blueprint: How Zee Plans To Complete India's Football Jigsaw

Manuel Neuer Doesn't Know Where To Stop: Not On The Pitch, Not In His Career

Advertisement

ENG

Dark / Light mode

Oct 9,2026 10:31 AM IST

Who was Lance Armstrong and who is Lance Armstrong?

facebook

twitter

WhatsApp

Settings

Select Language

Dark / Light mode

Search

Cycling

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Live Cricket Matches

India Matches

IPL 2026

Football Matches

ISL

EPL

All Matches

India Matches

EPL

Sports Home Cycling News Who was Lance Armstrong and who is Lance Armstrong

Related Articles

Story ProgressBack to home

Who was Lance Armstrong and who is Lance Armstrong?

Cyclist Lance Armstrong's rise was meteoric and symbolic. With rise comes fall and Armstrong's heroics came all undone towards the later part of last year. He now continues to be a legacy, albeit for wrong reasons.

Read Time: 5 min

After his confession to Oprah Winfrey - interview aired on January 17 - on doping in all of his Tour de France wins, a now clear way to describe him would be a man who chose to be honest, finally. This despite over a decade of denials against charges made against him.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong's rise was meteoric and symbolic. It was a celebration of human determination over physical limitations. After all, despite being diagnosed with level three testicular cancer, Armstrong battled  his way  - quite literally - to numerous laurels including Olympic medals and a record number of Tour de France titles.

With rise comes fall and Armstrong's heroics came all undone towards the later part of last year. Charges of using performance enhancing drugs was leveled against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and he was stripped of all his achievements since August 1998. It was not the first time such charges were made against him but it was definitely the first time that affirmative action was taken against Lance Edward Armstrong.

The achievements

Armstrong won the US National Amateur cycling championship in 1991 and followed it up by finishing 14th in the Barcelona Olympics (Men's Road Race). Year 1993 was when the American truly announced his arrival when he became the World Road Race champion, won the US National Road Race Championship and claimed his first stage victory in Tour de France.

Years 1994 and 1995 saw more wins for Armstrong but in 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer which spread to several other parts of his body as well. After surgery and chemotherapy sessions, the cyclist staged a miraculous comeback. In 1999, he won his maiden Tour de France Title. The win was a remarkable achievement but for Armstrong, it was the start of even bigger things to come - Tour de France wins in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Several other accolades followed in the ensuing years and things looked bright on the personal front as well when Armstrong announced he is in a relationship with singer Sheryl Crow.

The shame

Allegations of using performance enhancing substances were made against Armstrong as far back as in 1999. A French magazine had claimed that erythropoietin (EPO) was found in his frozen urine samples. A book titles L.A. Confidential was also published which made similar charges.

In 2006 though, Armstrong was cleared of all charges though the good news was followed by heart-break as he split with Crow despite announcing their engagement a year earlier.

He raced for Team Astana from 2008 - around the time he announced his relationship with Anna Hansen - and then, began his own team - Team RadioShack. While he retired completely in February 2011, speculation on whether he used performance enhancing drugs prevailed.

USADA, in June 2012, charged Armstrong for using banned substances like steroids, EPO and engaging in blood doping. Armstrong continued to deny though he said he won't contest the charges made against him.

Finally, after a decade of saying he never did, in an interview to Oprah Winfrey aired on January 17, Armstrong confessed to having used. "I went and looked up the definition of cheat. And the definition is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe. I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field," he said.

The man, the mark and the memories of what was

Lance Armstrong may have earlier been known as the man who defied all logic. Lance Armstrong may now be remembered as the cyclist who doped. What the world though will forget is the inspiration he became for people from all walks of life - even if it was a deceptive image. They won't consider him a true champion but while he was, Lance Armstrong's image served to help scores of people in fighting past odds thrown up by life.

The Livestrong charitable foundation was begun by Armstrong to support cancer patients. Scores of patients benefited from it and while people may be striking out a letter on their LIVESTRONG wrist bands to make it read LIESTRONG, according to a report on CNN, what cannot be taken away from his foundation is the good-work done.

Quotes unquoted:

Armstrong's decade of denial:

2001

"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, and study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?"

-- Advertisement for Nike

July 2005

"I'll say to the people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry that you can't dream big. I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. But this is one hell of a race. This is a great sporting event and you should stand around and believe it. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it. Vive Le Tour."

-- After Armstrong's seventh and final Tour de France victory

May 2010

"It's our word against his word. I like our word. We like our credibility. Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago."

-- - Response to disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis's accusations of systematic doping in the US Postal cycling team.

23 August 2012

"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999."

-- Armstrong announces he won't fight USADA's charges and pursue a hearing to prove his innocence.

Armstrong's moment with truth (courtesy Oprah Winfrey Network):

"I could not have won the race seven times without the drugs."

"My cocktail was EPO, transfusions and testosterone."

"I am sorry for taking performance-enhancing drugs during my career and that it was a mistake."

(With agency inputs) (Image above from Armstrong's official Twitter account and AFP, respectively)

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain Vs Argentina | Dani Olmo On WC Triumph: 'Wanted To Set An Example For The Next Generation'

Topics mentioned in this article

Cycling

Get the Latest Cricket, Asian Games 2026, Football , Hockey, Badminton Scores, F1 Results at NDTV Sports. Like Us On Facebook Or Follow Us On Twitter For More Sports Updates. You Can Also Download The NDTV Cricket App For Android Or iOS.

Advertisement

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Advertisement

Asian Games 2026 Medals Tally

No. Country G S B Total 1

People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China 169 89 83 341 2

Japan

Japan 83 95 91 269 3

Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea 39 43 68 150 4

India

India 21 27 37 85 5

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan 21 25 24 70

Full Medals Table

Advertisement

Now Trending

Advertisement

Trending Links

Follow us on:

facebook

twitter

Cricket

Football

More Sports

Formula 1 Tennis Hockey Badminton Golf Nba Kabaddi Shooting Swimming Table Tennis

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics © Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2026. All rights reserved.