Lance Armstrong's Rise and Fall

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 15, 2013

Lance Armstrong's Rise and Fall

1992

Lance Armstrong's story was one of the most inspirational in sports: the cyclist overcame testicular cancer to win seven straight Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005. But the story took a radical turn, as more and more people came out and said that he doped. Throughout the years Armstrong steadfastly maintained that he did not dope -- that is, until now. He admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he did, in fact, use drugs to help him win the Tour de France. Here's a timeline of some critical dates throughout Armstrong's career. Armstrong turned professional after the 1992 Summer Olympics, and joined the Motorola Cycling Team.

July 11, 1993

Armstrong won his first ever stage of the Tour de France (stage 8) in 1993.

August 28, 1993

Armstrong won the road race at the 1993 World Cycling Championships, one of the breakthrough moments for the up-and-coming cyclist.

1996

In 1996 Armstrong competed in the Olympics, where he finished sixth in the time trial and 12th in the road race. After the Games, he signed with the French team Cofidis, along with Frankie Andreu and Laurent Madouas.

October 2, 1996

On October 2, 1996 Lance Armstrong, the No. 1 cyclist in the U.S., was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer, which had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain.

December 13, 1996

Armstrong received his last chemotherapy treatment in December of 1996.

February 1997

By February of 1997 Armstrong was declared cancer-free, but he lost his contract with the Cofidis team.

1997

In 1997 Armstrong founded the Livestrong Foundation for cancer awareness. The foundation raised over $325 million through the sales of the yellow Livestrong bracelets.

October 16, 1997

Just over a year after he was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer, Armstrong signs with the U.S. Postal Service cycling team to resume his cycling career.

September 26, 1998

Armstrong finishes fourth in the 1998 Spanish Vuelta, his first race after his cancer diagnosis.

July 25, 1999

Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France, beating second place finisher Alex Zulle by seven minutes and 37 seconds.

July 23, 2000

Armstrong won his second straight Tour de France in 2000.

September 27, 2000

Armstrong won the bronze medal in the men's road race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

July 29, 2001

Armstrong continued his dominance and secured his third Tour de France victory.

July 21, 2002

Armstrong won his fourth Tour de France, beating the nearest competitor by seven minutes.

July 27, 2003

Armstrong celebrates his fifth straight Tour de France victory with team chief Johan Bruyneel on his way to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

July 25, 2004

Armstrong wins his sixth straight Tour de France,

July 24, 2005

Armstrong makes history by winning his seventh straight Tour de France with the Discovery Channel team. Upon completion of the 2005 Tour, Armstrong retired from cycling for the first time.

August 2005

In August of 2005, just after Armstrong announced his retirement from professional cycling, the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that Armstrong's frozen urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France were found positive for EPO.

2006

In 2006 Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong's, and his wife Betsy testified that Armstrong told doctors in their presence that he had used EPO.

2006

The UCI hired independent Dutch investigators to look into allegations that Armstrong doped during the 1999 Tour de France. But in May 2006 Armstrong was cleared of those doping charges. Meanwhile he ran the NYC Marathon in November in 2:59.36.

September 9, 2008

Armstrong announced that he would be coming out of retirement, and joining Alberto Contador on Astana Team. Armstrong set his sights on riding in the 2009 Tour de France.

July 26, 2009

Lance Armstrong finished in an unfamiliar third place in the 2009 Tour de France, with teammate Alberto Contador atop the podium.

May 20, 2010

In May 2010 Armstrong's former teammate and 2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis (right) came out and accused Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003. He also claimed that team director Johan Bruyneel bribed former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to keep quiet about a positive test in 2002.

July 2010

Armstrong rode in the 2010 Tour de France with the U.S.-based Radio Shack team. He struggled in several stages and eventually finished 23rd.

January 18, 2011

A report in Sports Illustrated revealed that former teammate Stephen Swart (left) claimed that Armstrong (right) was 'the instigator' for EPO use among his teammates.

February 16, 2011

Armstrong retires for a second time from cycling, this time for good.

May 2011

Tyler Hamilton admits to using EPO, says he and Armstrong used it together.

February 2012

U.S. Feds drop Armstrong's two-year criminal investigation with no charges.

June 2012

USADA charges Armstrong with doping. Pat McQuaid, President of the UCI, informs about the position of the UCI and strips Armstrong of his titles in October.

August 24, 2012

Armstrong drops appeal of doping charges.

October 17, 2012

Armstrong steps down as president of Livestrong federation.

October 22, 2012

USADA reveals over 1,000 pages of evidence that Armstrong doped, Armstrong stripped of seven TDF titles

January 14, 2013

Armstrong admits to dopingAfter a decade of denial, Armstrong confessed in a tv interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. The confession was a stunning reversal, after years of public statements, interviews and court battles in which he denied doping and zealously protected his reputation.