Lance Armstrong or The Greatest Cheat in Tour de France History

The American cyclist Lance Armstrong has literally written an indelible mark in the history of cycling. First as a fighter who beat an insidious disease, and after his career ended he became an outlaw who was labelled the biggest cheat in the history of the Tour de France.

• The cyclist who beat cancer
• A record seven Tour de France victories
• The biggest doping sinner in cycling history

A story for Hollywood

American Lance Armstrong started his sporting career as a triathlete. In 1992, however, he switched to cycling. Just a year later, he scored his first stage win at the Tour de France. Over time, he was becoming a promising cyclist.

However, in 1996, an insidious illness in the form of testicular cancer intervened in his life. He won the fight of his life, however, and just two years later he returned to his beloved cycling. In 1998, he joined his fateful US Postal Service stable.

Dominance at the Tour de France

In 1999, Armstrong sensationally won the Tour de France and began to write the story of a lifetime for Hollywood. The budding cyclist, having beaten an insidious illness, came back even stronger than he ever was. He won four stages in a row, beating runner-up Alex Zülle of Switzerland by more than seven and a half minutes.

After this dominating performance, voices began to grow that he must be doping. Armstrong himself explained his tremendous performance by the fact that his fight with cancer had ironically helped him, as he had lost a lot of weight after returning to cycling and had become a much better climber as a result. In addition, combined with a great ride against the chronometer, he had virtually no weaknesses.

The dominance continued for another incredible 6 years! During his triumphs, Armstrong most often duelled with the German Jan Ullrich, who always came away with second place. Between 1999 and 2005 he dominated the Tour seven times in a row, beating legends such as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinaul and Miguel Indurain.

They dominated the Tour on five occasions, with only the Spaniard Indurain managing to win five in a row between 1990-95. In 2005, Armstrong retired as one of cycling’s greatest legends. Throughout his dominance of the Tour, he faced year after year of doping allegations, but nothing was ever proven.

However, he only lasted 3 years in retirement and in 2009 he returned in the colours of Astana, when he took part in the Giro d’Italia for the first time, but here he did not ride for the overall victory and finished outside the top 10. The reason was to prepare for his 8th victory in the Tour de France. There, however, he finished 3rd when Astana designated the leader as Spaniard Alberto Contador, who actually enjoyed the triumph in the end. Armstrong tried again a year later in Radioshack colours, but finished his beloved race in 23rd position.

A shocking revelation!

On January 15, 2013, after years of denial, Lance Armstrong publicly admitted to systematic doping on Oprah Winfrey’s show. From one day to the next, the hero became an outlaw. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) subsequently stripped him of all his achievements on the road between 1999 and 2010.

Ironically, the victory was not retroactively awarded to the men who finished second in the overall classification, as the shadow of doping also lay on most of them.

This revelation dealt the Tour de France another blow after the doping scandals of the 1990s, of which the Festina stable is perhaps the most famous case. Moreover, the Tour king himself doped. So it took a very long time for the old lady to come clean and regain the trust of her fans.

Armstrong did eventually see his story made into a movie, but it wasn’t about a hero, it was about a villain who had been celebrated for years thanks to banned drugs.

Source: UCI, Tour de France, Lance Armstrong