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Lance Armstrong (born September 18, 1971) is an American cyclist from Austin, Texas. He is most famous for recovering from cancer to subsequently win the Tour de France a record six consecutive times -- 1999 to 2004. His success prompted some to nickname the event Tour de Lance.
Armstrong's achievements have been widely lauded. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him their Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for both 2002 and 2003, received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003 and 2004, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003...
Armstrong was born in Plano, TexasPlano is a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas located in Collin County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 222,030. Plano is the home to many corporate headquarters, including Beal Financial Corporation, Dr Pepper, Electronic D and was raised by his mother, Linda Mooneyham, whose spirit and independence has often been cited by Armstrong as his greatest influence. Armstrong received his surname at the age of three, when his mother married Terry Armstrong. Lance began his sporting career as a triathleteA Triathlon is an athletic event made up of three contests (from the Greek). In contemporary usage, the name triathlon is mostly applied to a combination of swimming, cycling and running, in that order. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed b, competing in seniors' competitions from the age of 16. It soon became clear that his greatest talent lay in racing bikes.
At 17, Lance received an invitation to train with the Junior National Cycling Team. Plano Independent School District's school board said that the six-week leave to train taken during the second semester of his senior year would bar him from graduating. Armstrong withdrew from his high school, Plano East Senior High, with his mother's blessing and went to train with the team. He graduated from another high school in Dallas the following spring. Lance still harbors resentment toward Plano because of this and prefers his adopted home of Austin, Texas.
After competing as a cycling amateur, winning the US amateur championship in 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac and finishing 14th in the 1992 OlympicsThe Games of the XXV Olympiad were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The hometown of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch was selected over Amsterdam, Belgrade, Birmingham, Brisbane and Paris. Games of the XXV Olympiad Nations participating169 road race, Armstrong turned professional in 19921992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. Events January January The Internet Society is formed. January 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General January 1 George H. Bush becomes the fi. The following year he scored his first major victory as he rode solo to win the World Road Championships in OsloOslo is the capital city of Norway, and has 518,929 inhabitants, which is 11. 4% of the total population in Norway. The conurbation extends into the surrounding county of Akershus and has a population of 801,028 (Jan. The urban municipality bykommune of O, NorwayThe Kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country west of Sweden on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean, where Norway's famous fjords are found. In addition to Sweden, it borders R. His victory was so dominant (he had time to blow kisses to his mother in the home straight) that he was invited to an audience with the King of NorwayHis Majesty King Harald V (born February 21, 1937) became King of Norway in 1991. The son of the then Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Martha of Sweden, Harald was born at Skaugum in Asker, near Oslo. He is the first King of Norway to have been born in t, which he initially turned down after finding his mother was not included in the invitation. Minutes later, the King invited both.
His successes continued with Team Motorola, with whom he won a stage in the 1995 Tour de France and several classic one-day events. In that same year, he won the premier U.S. cycling event, the Tour DuPont, having placed second in 1994. He won the Tour DuPont again in 1996, and was ranked number one cyclist in the world. Later in 1996, however, he abandoned the Tour de France and had a disappointing Olympic Games. These early disappointments spurred him on to the great things he has achieved post-cancer, and he admits that had he given in on the devilishly difficult Clasica san Sebastian he could have retired from the sport..
During his time with Motorola, Fabio Casartelli, a teammate, died on a descent in the Tour. As a young and hugely promising cyclist this was a blow for the team, the sport, and Fabio's nation, Italy. Team Motorola were allowed to take an uncontested next stage as a mark of respect.