Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam Radio Shack. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support.
He won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years, from 1999 to 2005. He is the only person to win seven times, having broken the previous record of five wins, shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil. He has survived testicular cancer, a tumor that metastasized to his brain and lungs in 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor.
In 1999, he was named the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong retired from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009, finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France.
Career
Early career
Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971, in Plano, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas.
At the age of 12, he began his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He stopped swimming after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon which he entered and won easily.
In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was Chann McRae, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion. Armstrong's points total for 1987 as an amateur was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.
It became clear that his greatest talent was as a bicycle racer after he won the U.S. amateur championship in 1991. Representing the U.S., he finished 14th in the 1992 Summer Olympics with the help of teammate Bob Mionske. This performance earned him his first professional contract with Motorola with whom he won his first race, the Trophee Laigueglia in Italy, beating the favourite Moreno Argentin. Also in 1992, Armstrong competed in the Tour of Ireland race.
In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races. He became one of the youngest riders to win the UCI Road World Championship, and took his first stage win at the 1993 Tour de France from Chalons-sur-Marne to Verdun. He was in 97th place overall when abandoned in the Alps after the 12th stage.
He also collected the Thrift Drug Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO national championship in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to a rider winning all three races, a feat previously unachieved. At the USPRO championship, Armstrong sat up on his bicycle on the final lap, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.
In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the Tour Du Pont in the United States. His successes in Europe were second placings in the Clásica San Sebastián and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
He won the Clásica San Sebastián in 1996, and this time won the Tour Du Pont and took a handful of stage victories in Europe including the stage to Limoges in the Tour De France. He dedicated the win to teammate Fabio Casartelli who had who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet on the 15th stage.
Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour Dupont. However, his performances began to suffer and he was only able to compete for five days in the Tour De France. At Atlanta he was only able to finish 6th in the time trial and 12th in the road race in the 1996 Olympic Games.
Cancer
On October 2, 1996, at age 25, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer. The cancer had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. On that first visit to a urologist in Austin, Texas, for his cancer symptoms he was already coughing up blood and had a large, painful testicular tumor. Immediate surgery and chemotherapy were required to save his life. Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove his diseased testicle. After his surgery his doctor admitted that he had had less than a 40% survival chance.
The standard chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of this type of cancer is a cocktail of the drugs BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (or Platinol). Armstrong, however, chose an alternative, VIP (etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin), to avoid the lung toxicity associated with the drug bleomycin. This decision may have saved his cycling career. His primary treatment was received at the Indiana University (IU), Indianapolis, Medical Center, where Dr. Lawrence Einhorn had pioneered the use of cisplatinum to treat testicular cancer. His primary oncologist there was Dr. Craig Nichols. Also at IU, his brain tumors were surgically removed and found to be necrotic (dead). His last chemotherapy treatment was received on December 13, 1996.
His cancer went into complete remission, and by January 1998 he was already engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe to race for the U.S. Postal team. A pivotal week (April, 1998) in his comeback was one he spent training in the very challenging Appalachian terrain around Boone, North Carolina, with his racing friend Bob Roll.
Tour de France success
Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had won two Tour de France stages. In 1993, he won the 8th stage and in 1995 he took stage 18 in honor of teammate Fabio Casartelli who crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of the 1996 Tour on the 7th stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis.
Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 when he finished fourth in the Vuelta a España. In 1999 he won the Tour de France, including four stages. He beat the second rider, Alex Zülle, by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and Marco Pantani (drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names. Stage wins included the prologue, stage eight, an individual time trial in Metz, an Alpine stage on stage nine, and the second individual time trial on stage 19.
In 2000, Ullrich and Pantani returned to challenge Armstrong. The race that began a six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong ended in victory for Armstrong by 6 minutes 2 seconds over Ullrich. Armstrong took one stage in the 2000 Tour, the second individual time trial on stage 19. In 2001, Armstrong again took top honors, beating Ullrich by 6 minutes 44 seconds. In 2002, Ullrich did not participate due to suspension, and Armstrong won by seven minutes over Joseba Beloki.
The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only 1 minute 1 second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the team time trial on stage four, while Armstrong took stage 15, despite being knocked off on the ascent to Luz Ardiden, the final climb, when a spectator's bag caught his right handlebar. Ullrich waited for him, which brought Ullrich fair-play honors.
In 2004, Armstrong finished first, 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of German Andreas Klöden. Ullrich was fourth, a further 2 minutes 31 seconds behind. Armstrong won a personal best five individual stages, plus the team time trial. He became the first since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up Alpe d'Huez was won in style by Armstrong as he passed Ivan Basso on the way despite setting out two minutes after the Italian. He won sprint finishes from Basso in stages 13 and 15 and made up a significant gap in the last 250m to nip Klöden at the line in stage 17. He won the final individual time trial, stage 19, to complete his personal record of stage wins.
In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by David Zabriskie in the Stage 1 time trial by 2 seconds, despite passing Ullrich on the road. His Discovery Channel team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won the final individual time trial. To complete his record-breaking feat, Armstrong crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his 7th consecutive Tour, finishing 4m 40s ahead of Basso, with Ullrich third.
Returning in 2009, Armstrong finished third, 5:24 back, becoming the second oldest rider to stand on the Tour podium. His Astana team dominated the race, with teammate Alberto Contador taking the overall title, and Astana also winning the team time trial.
In addition to 7 Tour de France wins, Armstrong won 22 individual stages (including 11 time trials) and his team won the team time trial on 4 occasions through 2009.
Physical attributes
Armstrong
WHOLESALE SPORT BRAS | WHOLESALE ACTIVEWEAR
Wholesale clothing company from Atlanta selling wholesale sports bras and workout wear to retailers.
Enell Sports Bra | MiO - Activewear, Yoga Wear, Work Out Clothing for ...
This high performance sports bra has maximum compression, maximum support and maximum ... Contact Us; Privacy and Security; Shipping and Returns; Size Chart; Wholesale Inquiry
Leather Bras,PVC Bras-Lingerie wholesale,Leather Lingerie
Leather Lingerie China,Womens' bra,Chinese PVC Lingerie Supplier and Manufacturer,Underwear Wholesale,Lingerie Wholesale ... French Maid : Angel&Devil : Sports costume
Wholesale Bras and Bra Panty Sets - BestWholesaleLingerie.com
Wholesale Bras and Bra Panty Sets - Strapless, moulded cup, lace, underwired, cotton, silicone, push up, sports bras
Womens Bras - Sports Bras and Seamless Bra from Marika.com
Womenb s Bras - Sports Bras and Seamless Bra from Marika.com. ... SITE MAP | CONTACT US | CUSTOMER SERVICE | WHOLESALE APPAREL ...
Sports Bras | Women's Sports Apparel | Workout Bra
Home | About BodyUP | Press Gallery | Wholesale Inquiries | Sports Bras | Workout Tops | Jackets | Capris | Shorts | Yoga Pilates Mats | Leisure Wear | Socks | Gift Certificates | ...
Volleyball Sports Bras
Sports bras for high impact sports and activities. Available in all sizes and styles, specializing in large cup sizes and extra support athletes require.
Wholesale Bras - Lingerie4Wholesale
Wholesale bras, bra sets, sexy sets, babydolls, corsets. Intimate apparel from ... Smooth Cup Sports Bra Price per 6 pcs: (Members Only) Invisible Straps Molded Cup Bra
Wholesale results for Sports Bras - DollarDays
Your search for products containing Sports Bras yielded 3988 results. You are on page 1 of 160.
Wholesale Seamless Racer Back Sports Bra - BestWholesaleLingerie.com
Seamless racer back sports bra. 6 colors available. ... Seamless racer back sports bras. Assorted color: Black, White, Nude, Orange, Hot Pink, Aqua