Tour de France 2003

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The Armstrong Story - Part IV

By Ian Melvin
Jul 28, 2003, 16:28

Part IV - A turn for the worse

The season began well for the Motorola rider.  Early season performances included a good 2nd place overall behind Laurent Jalabert in the Paris-Nice event.

1996 brought for Armstrong what he'd been threatening since turning pro four seasons previous - a classic win.  At the finish of Fleche Wallonne, having dropped his breakaway compatriot Didier Rous, Armstrong said, "I was super motivated today and I wanted to race smart.  No way was I ready to come second again."  He was no longer considered the young American up-start; instead he was emerging as one of the strongest and tactically smart one-day racers in Europe.  One week later he was there again in the Liege-Bastonge-Liege event where he finished 2nd.

A motivated Motorola team again traveled to the US to compete in the annual Tour DuPont.  Having already won three stages and taken the yellow jersey, Armstrong said, "The team will be riding defensively now.  We are just going to defend the yellow jersey."  True to his word, they defended the jersey admirably but also helped their leader take a further two stage victories.  After this event Armstrong took an unprecedented three-week break from racing and returned to Austin to recover from his efforts before returning to Europe for the Tour of Switzerland to help him finalize his preparation for the forth coming Tour de France.

Following the drama of the previous Tour de France, 96 proved to be a real non-starter.  Struggling to find any form, Armstrong was forced too abandon on the wet and windy tenth stage to Aix-les-Bains after picking up a respiratory infection.  European journalists mocked him accusing him of not wanting to race in the cold and wet and to be focusing on the soon to follow Atlanta Olympic Games instead.  His form just wasn't there and after being considered one of the top contenders for Olympic glory, Armstrong had to contend himself with 12th in the road race and 6th place in the time trial.  These were respectable results but something wasn't right.

Towards the end of the summer, Lance recorded another high finish with a 4th place in the Leeds Classic.  Armstrong was now 7th in the UCI world rankings and showing himself to be one of the greatest up and coming one-day riders of his generation.

With the withdrawal of Motorola's sponsorship for the following season, Armstrong found himself as one of the most sought after riders on the transfer market.  He eventually signed for Cyrille Guimard's new Cofidis team after lengthy discussions with Marc Madiot's La Francaise des Jeux squad in what was rumored to be a contract worth over one million dollars per year.

After finishing what many considered being his best and most consistent season to date on September 15th, Armstrong returned to Austin to recover and prepare for the following year. 

Just days before the World Championships in Lugano, Armstrong called a press conference and confirmed to the stunned European press that he had been diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer on October 8th and would soon begin chemotherapy.  He was already suffering from cancer when riding in the previous Tour de France and the Leeds Classic.  "The doctors still don't understand how I was riding so well in August," says Armstrong.

Having already had the malignant testicle removed within days of his diagnosis, he confirmed that the cancer had also spread to his lungs and abdomen yet neither of these were considered serious enough to be operated on.

Following an initial course of chemotherapy, it was confirmed that he also had two superficial lesions on his brain; one over his motor skills and the other over his vision which were both also quickly operated on at the Indiana University Hospital.  "I want to thank everyone around the world for their overwhelming show of support through cards, letters and emails.  These messages provide me with daily doses of positive thought," he said.  "The results so far have been tremendous but that doesn't mean we have a complete cure."

After only six weeks of treatment Armstrong looked pale and weak and, most of his hair had fallen out.  "If that's the worst that can happen, then fine.  As long as I'm alive, that's what matters," he said.  "I don't wanna die - I wanna live."

January 1st was penciled in as the day that he would be able to begin full time training again after trying to maintain as much of his fitness during his treatment with one-hour cycle rides, golf and basketball.  Some weeks before he had reflected, "I don't know if I can ever get back to where I was - I don't know what this is going to do to me.  I want to come back and race - absolutely.  But my priority is to live, and that's what I'm fighting for now.  My second aim is to race again at the highest level."

Throughout his illness his new employers were maintaining a careful eye on the situation; publicly offering their support and concern for Lance whilst eagerly hiring the services of both Tony Rominger and Maurizio Fondriest to plug up the gap left by him.  "I was always uncomfortable being the only leader, so for me it's wonderful to have two riders as reliable and experienced as that alongside me," he said when questioned about his new teammates.

As 1997 approached, Armstrong appeared to be over the worst of his illness but a comeback seemed as distant as it ever had.  As if overcoming the greatest challenge of his life were not enough, there were also rumblings from Europe that his new sponsors were not prepared to pay out a contract for what many now viewed as 'damaged goods'.  Would he come back?  Did he want to comeback?  Would Armstrong still have the motivation and desire to compete in one of the world's toughest endurance sports?  Many thought not - but one man was determined to prove his doubters wrong.  One man, who for years fought hard to achieve and succeed for everything that he had.  To leave his home of Plano and to make something of his life.  He wasn't prepared to give up the fight.  He had known adversity in the past and would surely meet it again in the future.

So what happened next in the Armstrong story?  Well, I hear that he wrote a book.  I read it some time back and let me tell you, it's all about the bike. He also wrote a new book which can be pre-ordered now.

For more information on testicular cancer and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, check out http://www.laf.org/.

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Previous parts:
Part III
Part II
Part I

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