Lance+Armstrong

=About Lance Armstong = ==   ==   ==** The Early Years **  == <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> Lance's (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) sporting career began in Plano, Texas, where his mother Linda supported his competitive drive from the beginning. He displayed a gift early on when he won the Iron Kids Triathlon at only 13 years of age, and became a professional when he was only 16. At the near-cost of his high school diploma, he trained with the U.S. Olympic cycling developmental team in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during his senior year. <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">His rise in the amateur ranks appeared effortless, and Lance qualified for the junior world championships in Moscow in 1989. By 1991 he was the U.S. National Amateur Champion and soon after turned professional. Once in the pro ranks, he quickly proved himself with a USPRO Championship title, stage victories in the Tour de France, a World Championship, multiple victories at the Tour du Pont, a No. 1 world ranking, and a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Lance entered 1996 as the No. 1 ranked cyclist in the world, competed as a member of the U.S. Cycling Team in the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, and signed a contract with the French-based Cofidis racing team. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: #ffe100; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> ==<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">**The Cancer Experience**     == <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">    <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">While seemingly at the top of his game, Lance was literally forced off of his bike in excruciating pain. In early October, his doctor gave him the stunning news that he had cancer. His life changed forever.

Tests revealed advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and his brain. Though his chances for his recovery were far less than 50-50, a frightened yet determined Lance began an aggressive form of chemotherapy. With the advice of specialists, he tried a course of treatment that gave him a chance for a full recovery with less danger of losing lung capacity as a side effect. Remarkably, the chemotherapy began to work, and Lance gradually allowed his thoughts to return to racing.

<span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Georgia, serif; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'mso-ansi-language;">Cancer left him scarred physically and emotionally, but he now maintains it was "...the best thing that ever happened to me." This new perspective allowed him to think beyond cycling and focus on his debt to the cancer community. He formed the Lance Armstrong Foundation within months of his diagnosis to help others with their cancer struggles. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> Back to Jon's page