![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The ultimate sporting comeback ![]() All-American hero: Armstrong is cheered on to victory by his supporters ![]() There are tales of courage and endurance throughout the world of sport.
While others may claim to have battled with adversity and overcome the odds, Armstrong's remarkable career eclipses almost every other account of sporting heroism.
Less than three years later he can justifiably claim to be one of the finest athletes on the planet.
But if his comeback from the brink of death has captured the public imagination, the American appears uncomfortable with the media focus on his remarkable recovery. "My story is unbelievable, but it is a true story," he shrugs. "We're not talking Hollywood here." Armstrong - nicknamed "Headstrong" by his team-mates - prefers cycling fans not to dwell on his health problems and instead wants them to recognise his achievements on the road. "We - my team and I - have worked really hard, made many sacrifices for the Tour de France," the US Postal rider adds. "After all I have gone through in the past three or four years I really had to go for it." Benefits But the 27-year-old Texan accepts it would be wrong to ignore the issue of his cancer.
"Perhaps the illness benefited me," Armstrong explains. "If I had been able to avoid it I would, but it allowed me to get away from cycling, to look around me, to reflect on things. To approach the sport with another mentality. "In 1996 I was very professional but it wasn't 100%. Now I work more, I pay more attention to my diet, to the little things." Dropped
Indeed, there have been other hurdles in his path that could have ended the career of lesser sportsmen. Armstrong made his name among the cycling fraternity with victory in the 1993 World Championships.
He was dropped by his team, Cofidis, and faced a huge struggle to re-establish his reputation as a winner. "When I was in hospital in Indianapolis, people told me they were going to help me - but they were there to break contracts," he reveals. "I shan't name names. The only name I want to mention is US Postal, who believed in me." Insinuations And then there are the whispers of drug use.
French newspapers like Le Monde - stung by the lack of home success in the event and determined to unearth more salacious stories - have hinted throughout the race that Armstrong's success may not just be the result of his talent and months of training. But the rider himself dismissed the insinuations and he was exonerated by cycling's governing body UCI.
"Le Monde is looking for a doping story, but there's not one," he insisted. Now Armstrong has put all his problems behind him - as well as the rest of the Tour de France field. And he is even beginning to make waves in his homeland, a country not renowned for its interest in cycling.
His achievements have won over both American and French sports fans. As the USA Today newspaper heralded: "The French love miracles. They have have the town of Lourdes, where the desperately ill flock for salvation. "Now they have Lance Armstrong." ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() Tour de France Contents ![]()
![]() ![]() ![]() |