The Tour de France is the oldest, longest, and most prestigious bicycle race in history. The three-week race is over 2,000 miles long. Famous for its climbs, the route goes through the Alps and Pyrenees, eventually ending in Paris. It is arguably one of the toughest sports events in the world. Before 1999, only one American, the legendary Greg LeMond, had ever won it.
That all changed when Lance Armstrong survived cancer to win the Tour an astonishing seven years in a row. Many cyclists and cancer victims looked to him as a hero. Some people thought that his career was too good to be true - that he must have cheated to be that successful. After years of controversy, the skeptics were proven true. Throughout his professional career, Armstrong had taken performance-enhancing drugs. Lance could have been a good athlete and role model, but his drug use turned an inspiring success story into another doping scandal. Lance grew up in a somewhat unstable home environment. His mother was young and single, and later married and divorced a man that Lance considered too harsh (Gutman 2). His father figure in high school was a cycling coach named J.T. Neal (“End of the Ride…” 1). Armstrong formed a close bond with Neal, often spending time and eating meals with the Neal family (“End of the Ride…” 1). As a kid and in high
…show more content…
Lance began riding in European races with the Motorola team. He finished last in his first race as a pro rider, due to cold and wet conditions (Gutman 25). However, he did well in later races and eventually began winning them (Gutman 26). In 1993, he won a million dollar bonus for winning the three biggest races in the United States (Gutman 30). In 1993, and again in 1995, he raced in the Tour de France (Gutman 36). However, he was too heavy and muscular to do well on the mountain stages and failed to finish in 1993 (Gutman