“Didn’t Realize the Power”- Lance Armstrong Reflects on the Time Before His Life Experienced a Radical Change

During the early 2000s, people regarded Lance Armstrong as perhaps one of the most gifted athletes in history. Seven Tour de France wins made sure of that. Till the athlete took the cycling world by storm, only a handful of riders came close to achieving this feat. However, all previous accolades fell short in front of the cyclist’s achievements in the event.

Till the mid-90s, only four cyclists had won the Tour five times each. These cyclists were Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.

Lance Armstrong reflects on his past during a conference

No rider won the race as many times as Armstrong did. Unsurprisingly, people hailed him as the greatest in the Tour’s century-old history. The cyclist won the race seven times consecutively.

However, that was not all. The fact that the cyclist was a cancer survivor helped strengthen his legacy. Doctors diagnosed Armstrong with testicular cancer in 1996, shortly after the athlete turned 25. But he made a complete recovery following surgery and treatment.

The athlete was declared cancer-free the following year. Following this, he found the Lance Armstrong Foundation, now known as the Livestrong Foundation.

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Recently, Armstrong attended the ‘Life Itself’ conference as a speaker in San Diego, California, between May 31 and June 3. He spoke about his encounter with cancer at the event. Moreover, he addressed some of the things he and his family faced after his fall from grace.

Reflecting on his former glory, the former cyclist said, “I had billions of fans around the world. I was arguably the biggest athlete in the world. I didn’t realize the power that I had.”

Why did the UCI strip Armstrong of his titles?

Armstrong dominated the stages of the Tour de France during the late 90s and the first half of the 2000s. However, people looking to find more about these historic wins will not find them mentioned in the books or on most sites.

The UCI stripped the former cyclist of these honors and banned him from the sport. They made the decision following a report by USADA detailing evidence of doping by the athlete. The cyclist came clean about his doping practices during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013.

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Therefore, people looking to find more about his Tour de France victories generally find news of the cyclist’s fall from grace. This also includes the Olympic bronze medal he won at the 2000 Summer Olympics.