Armstrong, Lance

Armstrong, Lance, 1971–, American cyclist, b. Dallas, Tex. He won (1991) the U.S. amateur cycling championship, turned professional (1992), and by the mid-1990s had won the Tour DuPont twice and was being hailed as the finest U.S. cyclist. In 1996, however, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread extensively. Given a 50% chance of survival, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. In one of the more impressive comebacks in sports history, he returned (1998) to cycling and reached the pinnacle of the sport with seven consecutive victories (1999–2005) in the Tour de France, the sport's toughest and most prestigious race. He also won a bronze medal in the time trial at the 2000 Olympics. Accusations in 2005 that he had engaged in blood doping in 1999 were denied by Armstrong and disputed in 2006 by an International Cycling Union investigation, which found no evidence to support the charges. In 2006, however, two former teammates of Armstrong said that they had engaged in blood doping in 1999 but that they had not seen Armstrong engage in the practice.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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