Lance’s sporting career began in Plano, Texas, where he was born on September 18th, 1971.
Armstrong grew up in Dallas in the suburbs and took part in athletics at young age. He displayed a gift early on when he won the Iron Kids Triathlon at 13 and became a professional when he was only 16 years old. But Armstrong soon found that he loved cycling more than running and swimming, and he chose to focus his energy on his favourite sport. Soon the national cycling team took notice and invited young Lance to work out with them, while he was still a senior in high school.
But on October 1996 he was forced off his bike in excruciating pain. His doctor told him that he had cancer. And his life changed forever. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread to brain and lungs. Though his chances for his recovery were 40%, Lance began an aggressive form of chemotherapy. With the advice of specialist, 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 racing. Armstrong was pronounced healthy on February 1997.
Cancer left him scarred physically and emotionally, but now he maintains it was “the best thing that ever happened to me, I used to live; now I live strong”.
Lance’s complete recovery from cancer seemed like a miracle, but actually returning to racing felt unfathomable. The doubt was if he could still perform at the level of a top cyclist, to be able to do that Armstrong embarked of a very strict training regimen, to prepare for a possible comeback. Cofidis dropped him, doubting his proclamation that he would be back and better than ever. Lance found himself team less until the United States Postal Service took a leap of faith and signed him. But signing in with a new team after he had none wasn’t enough for him. He needed to prove himself in the ranks of the...
