Carlos Sastre Candil ( pronounced [ˈkaɾ.los ˈsas.tɾe ˈkandil] ; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France . He consistently achieved outstanding results in the Vuelta a España and in the Tour de France . Sastre established himself as a strong and stable climbing specialist , and after working to improve his individual time trial skills, he became a contender for the top GC spots in the Grand Tours . In total, Sastre finished in the top ten of fifteen Grand Tours during his career, and finished on the podium of each of them. Sastre never tested positive for drugs, nor was he implicated in any doping investigation, even though he performed at the top level of cycling.
106-577: Sastre continues to be widely regarded, following the Lance Armstrong affair, as one of the very few 'clean' riders to have won the Tour de France in the period from 1996 to 2013, as he has never been involved in a doping affair. In fact, with respect to doping allegations and admissions that have surrounded Tour winners in recent decades, Sastre has been called "Don Limpio" ("Mr. Clean" in Spanish) by
212-419: A United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career and named him as the ringleader of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". While maintaining his innocence, Armstrong chose not to contest the charges, citing the potential toll on his family. He received
318-452: A French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the peloton . Subsequently, Armstrong had an altercation with Bassons during the 1999 Tour de France where Bassons said Armstrong rode up alongside on the Alpe d'Huez stage to tell him "it was a mistake to speak out the way I (Bassons) do and he (Armstrong) asked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of
424-413: A Tour GC contender. Through the mountain stages, Sastre proved himself the strongest mountain rider in the peloton , beating Floyd Landis by one minute and 59 seconds and Andreas Klöden by two and a half minutes on mountain climbs. Sastre was placed well on stage 15, and came in 2nd on both stage 16 and 17, where he closed the gap to the then yellow jersey Óscar Pereiro . Before the penultimate stage of
530-731: A brief in Travis County District Court in Texas, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004 as an employee of Armstrong. Anderson worked for Armstrong for two years as a personal assistant. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of 'androstenin' while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona , Spain. 'Androstenin' is not on the list of banned drugs. Anderson stated in
636-545: A controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager, Johan Bruyneel , stemming from a March 17, 2009, encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in Beaulieu-sur-Mer . When the official arrived, Armstrong claims he asked—and was granted—permission to take a shower while Bruyneel checked the official's credentials. In late April,
742-459: A couple of minutes over his closest rivals. Following his victorious Stage 17 attack, Sastre took a lead of 1 minute and 24 seconds over teammate Fränk Schleck into the final time trial, although, more crucially, he had a further 10 seconds advantage over Evans, a man considered to be a more accomplished time trialist, who was widely expected to overcome the deficit and leapfrog Sastre into first place. However, Sastre managed to hold onto his lead in
848-514: A cyclist has to be in an anti-doping program for six months before an event, but UCI allowed Armstrong to compete. He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in Baltanás , Spain, and breaking his collarbone . Armstrong flew back to Austin, Texas , for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation. On April 10, 2009,
954-501: A headache, blurred vision, coughing up blood, and a swollen testicle. The next day, Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove the diseased testicle. When Reeves was asked in a later interview what he thought Armstrong's chances of survival were, Reeves said, "Almost none. We told Lance initially 20 to 50% chance, mainly to give him hope. But with the kind of cancer he had, with the X-rays, the blood tests, almost no hope." After receiving
1060-546: A letter from Steven Wolff, an oncologist at Vanderbilt University, Armstrong went to the Indiana University medical center in Indianapolis and decided to receive the rest of his treatment there. The standard treatment for Armstrong's cancer was a "cocktail" of the drugs bleomycin , etoposide , and cisplatin (or Platinol ) (BEP). The first chemotherapy cycle that Armstrong underwent included BEP, but for
1166-616: A lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code , ending Armstrong's competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders. In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted his involvement in doping. In April 2018, Armstrong settled a civil lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice and agreed to pay US$ 5 million to
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#17327933916691272-436: A major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "le mensonge Armstrong" ('The Armstrong Lie') that six urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France , frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in recent retesting conducted as part of
1378-571: A new deal. A former boss at Subaru Montgomery offered him a contract with the US Postal team at a salary of $ 200,000 a year. By January 1998, Armstrong was engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe with the team. Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had participated in four Tour de France races, winning two stages. In 1993, he won the eighth stage and in 1995; he took stage 18 which he dedicated to teammate Fabio Casartelli who had crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of
1484-473: A number of occasions. In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs ( L.A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong ). Another figure in the book, Steve Swart , claims he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while members of the Motorola team, a claim denied by other team members. Among
1590-604: A pang". On September 9, 2008, Armstrong announced that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France . VeloNews reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online. Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008, that Armstrong would compete in the UCI Tour Down Under through Adelaide and surrounding areas in January 2009. UCI rules say
1696-610: A professor of neurosurgery at Indiana University. Armstrong's final chemotherapy treatment took place on December 13, 1996. In January 1997, Armstrong unexpectedly appeared at the first training camp of the Cofidis team at Lille , France, riding 100 km (62 mi) with his new teammates before returning to the United States. In February 1997, he was declared cancer-free. In October, Cofidis announced that his contract would not be extended, after negotiations broke down over
1802-606: A quiet year finishing 16th overall. In 2010, Sastre raced all three Grand Tours, finishing 8th in the Giro , 20th in the Tour and 7th in the Vuelta . He announced that he would join Geox-TMC for the 2011 season. In the 2011 Vuelta a España Sastre himself finished 20th overall, but helped his teammate Juan José Cobo , who was later, in 2019, considered ineligible for results due to
1908-403: A record seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 , but was stripped of his titles after an investigation into doping allegations , called the Lance Armstrong doping case , found that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs over his career. As a result, Armstrong is currently banned for life from all sanctioned bicycling events. At age 16, Armstrong began competing as a triathlete and
2014-417: A research project into EPO testing methods. Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, "Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in
2120-435: A second (0.22) outside Fabian Cancellara 's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France on the podium in third place. The only riders able to drop him were Andy Schleck who was able to defeat him by +1:13 and his own Astana teammate Alberto Contador , who won the Tour by more than four minutes over Schleck. On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010. RadioShack
2226-696: A six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong and 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. At the Summer Olympics 2000 , Armstrong raced to third place in the Men's road time trial . In 2013, he was stripped of the bronze medal and third place title by the IOC after he admitted to doping. In September that year, Armstrong returned his medal to Olympic officials. In 2001, Armstrong again took top honors at
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#17327933916692332-533: A sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a "cancer in cycling". He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his "admiration for dopers" at a press conference at the Tour of California in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong. This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in The Irish Independent . Armstrong continued to deny the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs for four more years, describing himself as
2438-547: A strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected'. I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs." 2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race , took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It
2544-519: A subsequent deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using a banned substance. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In November 2012, Times Newspapers republished all of Walsh's articles as well as the original "LA Confidential" article by Alan English in Lanced: The shaming of Lance Armstrong . The Times
2650-657: The 1995 Tour de France . In 1996, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal metastatic testicular cancer . After recovering, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now the Livestrong Foundation ) to assist other cancer survivors. Returning to cycling in 1998, Armstrong was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005 when he won his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong retired from racing at
2756-438: The 2007 Vuelta a España , 3'31" behind race winner Denis Menchov . Coming into the 2008 Tour de France , Sastre was considered one of the favorites to win the race along with Australian Cadel Evans of Team Silence–Lotto , Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne and Russian Denis Menchov of Rabobank . He also faced competition within his own team from brothers Andy and Fränk Schleck , despite officially being
2862-633: The Appalachian Mountains . In May 1998, Armstrong held his second charity race for cancer research in Austin, Texas: The Race for the Roses. Greg LeMond , Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly , and five time Tour champion Miguel Induráin were the most important cyclists at the event. LeMond said it was a good reason to get cyclists together, going on to say that life does not always deal the cards out equal and who knows if Armstrong will get back to
2968-814: The Tour de France , in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to Verdun . He was 97th in the general classification when he retired after stage 12. Armstrong 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 . He is alleged by another cyclist competing in
3074-429: The Tour of Flanders , but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races. Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Tour of California , both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside Visalia early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race. He showed fine shape after recovering from
3180-406: The young rider classification with Andy Schleck , the overall team classification, as well as 2 stages, the latter being won by Sastre, on l'Alpe d'Huez. His victory was however criticized by Lance Armstrong , who said the 2008 Tour was a joke. Armstrong later apologized for this to Sastre. Sastre and CSC could not agree on a new contract, so Sastre left the team at the end of the year. After
3286-568: The 1996 Tour after the fifth stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis. Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 and he entered the 1998 edition of Paris–Nice but could not compete at such an elite level and abandoned the race. He then abandoned Europe with his fiancé and returned to Texas where he contemplated retirement. Not long after returning to the United States, Armstrong entered seclusion near Beech Mountain and Boone, North Carolina with former Tour de France rider Bob Roll as well as Chris Carmichael and trained in
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3392-507: The 2006 Tour in 4th place. Floyd Landis has since been stripped of this title, making Sastre 3rd in the 2006 Tour de France. When he finished the 2006 Vuelta 4th overall, Sastre, who also rode the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in 2006, became one of a rare breed of riders to finish all three Grand Tours in one year. In the 2007 Tour de France , Sastre finished 4th overall, 7'08" behind race winner Alberto Contador . He finished 2nd overall in
3498-480: The 2006 Vuelta a España. The organisers of the Tour and London mayor Ken Livingstone announced on 24 January 2006 that the start of the Tour would take place in London. Livingstone noted the two stages would commemorate the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings , saying " Having the Grand Départ on the seventh of July will broadcast to the world that terrorism does not shake our city. " The routes for
3604-514: The 2007 route in Paris on 26 October 2006. In total, the route covered 3,570 km (2,218 mi). The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,770 m (9,090 ft) at the summit of the Col de l'Iseran mountain pass on stage 9. The first scandal arrived when it was made public on 18 July that rider Patrik Sinkewitz from the T-Mobile Team had tested positive one month before
3710-578: The AFLD cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. He returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on April 29. On July 7, in the fourth stage of the 2009 Tour de France , Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the team time trial . His Astana team won the 39 km lap of Montpellier but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of
3816-537: The American champion handled them well, maintained his lead and, on some occasions, increased it. To complete his record-breaking feat, he crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his seventh consecutive Tour, finishing 4m 40s ahead of Basso, with Ullrich third. Another record achieved that year was that Armstrong completed the tour at the highest pace in the race's history: his average speed over
3922-757: The CoreStates Road Race to have bribed that cyclist so that he would not compete with Armstrong for the win. In 1994, Armstrong again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the Tour DuPont in the United States. His successes in Europe occurred when he placed second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Clásica de San Sebastián , where just two years before, Armstrong had finished in last place at his first all-pro event in Europe. He finished
4028-456: The French team were teammates Frankie Andreu and Laurent Madouas . Two months later, Armstrong was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. On October 2, 1996, at the age of 25, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three (advanced) testicular cancer ( embryonal carcinoma ). The cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, lungs, brain, and abdomen. Armstrong visited urologist Jim Reeves in Austin, Texas, for diagnosis of his symptoms, including
4134-455: The GC contenders with a young, relatively unknown rider, Geraint Thomas , finishing one second behind him and Contador four seconds slower. In all eight of Armstrong's Tours since his comeback in 1999 he always had the requisite good luck early in the Tour and never got involved in crashes or mechanicals , which could cost him serious time. In 2010 his luck ran out early as he lost serious time due to
4240-816: The Prologue in London and the first full stage through Kent , finishing in Canterbury , were announced on 9 February 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre . This was the first time the Grand Départ was in the United Kingdom and the third time the Tour visited the United Kingdom, including Plymouth in 1974 and two stages in Kent , Sussex and Hampshire in 1994 . Tour director Christian Prudhomme unveiled
4346-420: The Tour de France, 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 . During stage eleven and twelve of this Tour is when the race was won as US Postal had Vuelta champ Roberto Heras lead Armstrong up both climbs, breaking the peloton in the process. Then, when Heras' work was done, Armstrong took off to claim
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4452-436: The Tour ended with the smallest-ever spread of only 31 seconds among the top three riders. Alberto Contador also won the young rider classification , indicated by the white jersey, as the best young (under age 25) rider. A total of 21 teams were invited to the 2007 Tour de France. Each team sent a total of nine riders to participate in the Tour, which brought the starting total of the peloton to 189 riders. The presentation of
4558-412: The Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg . On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour's prologue time trial, finishing fourth. Only time trial specialists were able to better Armstrong's time and he was the highest placed of
4664-556: The Tour started. Sinkewitz had already withdrawn from the race having incurred an injury during the 8th stage. The scandal was big enough to prompt German TV broadcasters ZDF and ARD to drop their coverage. The Tour was dealt a major blow when the first-place Astana team withdrew from the race on 24 July 2007, after team member and pre-race favourite Alexander Vinokourov from Kazakhstan tested positive for an illegal blood transfusion. Vinokourov's teammates Andreas Klöden and Andrey Kashechkin were in 5th and 7th place respectively at
4770-485: The Tour, Sastre ended up focusing on the Vuelta a España looking to double his victories. He later finished 3rd overall. Sastre joined the new Cervélo TestTeam for the 2009 season. He won the high mountain Stage 16 of the 2009 Giro d'Italia , which had been called the Giro's queen stage, after seven hours and twelve minutes. His decisive attack saw him break free from a group of general classification contenders to get to
4876-419: The Tour, the bookmakers' favourite to win the 2007 Tour de France was Alexander Vinokourov , who was unable to start in 2006 due to lack of team members, but did win the 2006 Vuelta a España . The main challengers were expected to be the 2006 Tour de France second-place finisher Andreas Klöden ; and Alejandro Valverde , who dropped out of the 2006 Tour de France after a crash, but came second to Vinokourov in
4982-415: The Tour, the stage 19 individual time trial, Sastre was the second placed rider overall, trailing race leader Óscar Pereiro by 14 seconds. However, on the final time trial, which stretched 57 kilometres between Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mines , Sastre finished 20th, losing several minutes to Pereiro, eventual overall winner Floyd Landis and Andreas Klöden, who took third place overall. Sastre thus finished
5088-532: The Tour. She said: "They were in a panic, saying: 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?'". According to O'Reilly, the solution was to obtain a pre-dated prescription for a steroid-based ointment used to treat saddle sores from one of the team's compliant doctors. O'Reilly said that she would have been aware if Armstrong had saddle sores as she would have been responsible for administering any treatment. O'Reilly said that Armstrong told her: "Now, Emma, you know enough to bring me down." O'Reilly said that she
5194-537: The U.S. government after whistleblower proceedings were commenced by Floyd Landis , a former team member. Armstrong was born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Richardson, Texas . His mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly (neé: Gayle Mooneyham), grew up in Oak Cliff . Armstrong was named after Lance Rentzel , a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His parents divorced in 1973 when Lance
5300-556: The Vuelta a España, he extended his contract with Team CSC for another year. In May 2006 he signed a new contract which expired after the 2008 season. Before the 2006 Giro d'Italia in May, Sastre decided to ride the Giro d'Italia to help Ivan Basso to win, indicating that he would ride all three Grand Tours; the Giro and Tour in support of Basso and the Vuelta as team captain. In the Giro, Sastre's pace on select mountain stages helped Basso win
5406-455: The absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and Marco Pantani (drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names in the sport. 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 began
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#17327933916695512-488: The aftermath and peloton splits caused by a crash on stage 3, and then another crash on stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyrenean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate Chris Horner . He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind former winner Alberto Contador . He was also a key rider in helping Team RadioShack win the team competition, beating Caisse d'Epargne by 9 minutes, 15 seconds. In October, he announced
5618-470: The allegations in the book were claims by Armstrong's former soigneur Emma O'Reilly that a backdated prescription for cortisone had been produced in 1999 to avoid a positive test. A 1999 urine sample at the Tour de France showed traces of corticosteroid . A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance. O'Reilly said she heard team officials worrying about Armstrong's positive test for steroids during
5724-401: 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
5830-485: The classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1987. For the team classification , the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team is the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow numbers. The super-combativity award was given to Amets Txurruka . The Souvenir Henri Desgrange given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to
5936-450: The crucial 17th stage, Sastre showed his class and mountain climbing prowess, attacking at the bottom of the final climb of the day, Alpe d'Huez , finishing 2 minutes and 15 seconds ahead of Evans, claiming both the stage win and the yellow jersey. Sastre, knowing that a slender lead over a strong time-trialist like Evans may not have been enough to secure overall victory going into the penultimate stage, sought to gain an advantage of at least
6042-475: The drug tests he had taken over his cycling career. Armstrong has been criticized for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as Paul Kimmage and Christophe Bassons . Bassons was a rider for Festina at the time of the Festina affair and was widely reported by teammates as being the only rider on the team not to be taking performance-enhancing drugs. Bassons wrote a number of articles for
6148-599: The end of his international career after the Tour Down Under in January 2011. He stated that after January 2011, he will race only in the U.S. with the Radioshack domestic team. On February 16, 2011, Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling "for good" while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations. Armstrong improved the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of
6254-468: The end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009, finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France later that year. Between 2010 and 2011, he raced with Team Radio Shack , and retired for a second time in 2011. Armstrong became the subject of doping allegations after winning the 1999 Tour de France. For years, he denied involvement in doping. In 2012,
6360-451: The end, at which time he picked it up and carried it the rest of the way to the road at the bottom of the hairpin turn, essentially losing no time as a result. He could have been fined or penalized for taking a shortcut, but it was deemed unintentional. Armstrong maintained a gap of only +0:21 over Vinokourov, but Ullrich was emerging as the most likely rider to overthrow Armstrong. Armstrong then took stage 15—despite having been knocked off on
6466-565: The final individual time trial, stage 19, to complete his personal record of stage wins. In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by American David Zabriskie in the stage 1 time trial by two seconds, despite having passed Ullrich on the road. His Discovery Channel team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won the final individual time trial. In the mountain stages, Armstrong's lead was attacked multiple times mostly by Ivan Basso, but also by T-mobile leaders Jan Ullrich, Andreas Klöden and Alexandre Vinokourov and former teammate Levi Leipheimer . But still,
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#17327933916696572-702: The first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour DuPont. However, Armstrong was able to compete for only five days in the Tour de France. In the 1996 Olympic Games , he finished sixth in the time trial and twelfth in the road race. In August 1996, following the Leeds Classic , Armstrong signed a two-year, $ 2 million deal with the French Cofidis Cycling Team . Joining him in signing contracts with
6678-481: The first biker 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 having set 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 250 m to nip Klöden at the line in stage 17. He won
6784-409: The first cyclists that reach the top of these climbs, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and wore a white jersey with red polka dots . The fourth individual classification was the young rider classification , marked by the white jersey. This classification was calculated the same way as the general classification, but
6890-495: The first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Galibier on stage 9. This prize was won by Mauricio Soler . Riders in the UCI ProTour (therefore not members of the wildcard entries Barloworld or Agritubel ) are awarded UCI ProTour points for their performance in the Tour de France. The winner of a stage receives 10 points, second receives 5 points and third 3 points. UCI ProTour points are also awarded for high places in
6996-430: The front wheel and threw Burghardt over the handlebars onto the road. A second incident involving a dog occurred on Stage 18. Sandy Casar and Frederik Willems were in a four-man break when Casar collided with a dog running across the road, causing both him and Willems to fall. Casar was able to rejoin the break with the help of Axel Merckx despite receiving road rash on his right buttock, while Willems returned to
7102-420: The highest level, maybe he retires next year. During an interview, Armstrong said the rider he admires the most is Laurent Jalabert , saying that when he is riding well, he is the fiercest competitor in the bunch. Armstrong then entered and won the Tour of Luxembourg . During the 1998 Vuelta a España Armstrong shocked the cycling world by finishing in the top five during one ITT, the top 10 in another and for
7208-459: The leader of CSC–Saxo Bank . Sastre had a quiet, understated opening to the tour. After a lacklustre opening time-trial, he remained relatively restrained in the opening mountain stages in the Pyrenees and opted to stay defensive and follow the wheel of his main rivals. This allowed his CSC teammate Fränk Schleck to claim the yellow jersey at the finish to stage 15 at Prato Nevoso. However, on
7314-590: The most part staying with the GC contenders in the mountains en route to finishing fourth overall. His credibility as a threat was confirmed when he finished fourth in both the road race and time trial at the World Championships . As a result of these efforts, Armstrong finished third in the voting for the Vélo d'Or . In 1999, he won the Tour de France, including four stages. Armstrong beat the second place rider, Alex Zülle , by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However,
7420-527: The most tested athlete in the world. From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong claimed to have submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities. Armstrong was criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari . Ferrari claimed that he was introduced to Lance by Eddy Merckx in 1995. Greg LeMond described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said, "I am not happy
7526-570: The mountains with several good results, most notably winning the mountain competition in the 2000 Vuelta a España. In 2002 he switched to Team CSC , where he filled the role of captain in the Vuelta a España and, until 2005, had a free role in the Tour de France. This resulted in his winning the 13th stage of the 2003 Tour de France , which Sastre won with a pacifier in his mouth, as a greeting to his infant daughter. Sastre finished 2 minutes 32 seconds ahead of team captain Tyler Hamilton on
7632-418: The next generation of riders. Then he said 'Why don't you leave, then?'". Armstrong later confirmed the story, stating on the main evening news on TF1 , a national television station: "His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home." Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became
7738-671: The overall classification. Sastre finished 43rd in the GC of the 2006 Giro. Days before the 2006 Tour de France started in July, Team CSC suspended Ivan Basso as his name was brought up in the Operación Puerto doping case . This meant Sastre became the CSC team captain at the 2006 Tour. Even though his main focus for the season had been the 2006 Vuelta a España in September, this Tour was a great opportunity for Sastre to prove himself as
7844-562: The peloton. Casar went on to win the stage. After Stage 16, overall leader Michael Rasmussen was fired by his team, Rabobank , for violating team rules after he told the team that he was in Mexico with his wife in June, then being sighted training in Italy by Italian journalist Davide Cassani. Rasmussen disputed this claim, maintaining that he was in Mexico. Thus, at the start of stage 17 there
7950-413: The penultimate Tour DuPont and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to Limoges in the Tour de France , three days after the death of his teammate Fabio Casartelli , who crashed on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet on the 15th stage. After winning the stage, Armstrong pointed to the sky in honor of Casartelli. Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became
8056-422: The points classification, cyclists get points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and is identified with a green jersey. There was also a mountains classification . The organization categorised some climbs as either hors catégorie , first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by
8162-413: The press and others. When Sastre was young, professional cyclist Francisco Ignacio San Román lived in his parents' house during military service. Sastre was at first coached by his father, until he became an amateur. Sastre signed his first professional contract in 1997 with ONCE . In his five years at ONCE he mostly served as a domestique and only managed a few wins, though he showed his strength in
8268-450: The reasons for missing several drug tests earlier in the year. The points classification , indicated by the green jersey, was won for the first time by Tom Boonen , who had failed to complete the previous two Tours after leading the points classification at times during each. The mountains classification , indicated by the polkadot jersey, was won by Mauricio Soler in his first Tour appearance. The general classification , indicated by
8374-458: The second rest day of the Tour, on 24 July. French prosecutors wanted to start a legal case against Vinokourov, Mayo and Moreni, and requested the UCI to hand over the doping samples. The UCI refused to give them, and in May 2011 the investigation was stopped. German cyclist Marcus Burghardt collided with a Labrador Retriever during Stage 9. The bike struck the dog on its backside, which buckled
8480-400: The sister of cyclist José María Jiménez , who died in 2003. Sastre dedicated his 2008 Tour victory to his memory. Source: Lance Armstrong Stage races One-day races and Classics Lance Edward Armstrong ( né Gunderson ; born September 18, 1972) is an American former professional road racing cyclist . He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France
8586-424: The stage wins only having to contend with Beloki. The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only a minute and a second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the team time trial on stage 4, and on stage 9, Armstrong nearly crashed out of the Tour while defending the yellow jersey. He was less than a minute ahead of Beloki and Alexander Vinokourov
8692-417: The stage. Before the 2004 season, Carlos Sastre and teammate Ivan Basso trained extensively to improve their individual time trial skills, making them better all-round riders. They went to Boston to train on MIT 's wind tunnel. This helped Sastre improve his Vuelta a España performance, ranking 6th in the overall classification, as well as 8th in the 2004 Tour de France . In the 2005 Tour de France he
8798-486: The statement: "The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression." The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published L.A. Official and Le Sale Tour ( The Dirty Trick ), further pressing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed
8904-431: The summit of Monte Petrano just under half a minute faster than the group he left. After seeming off his form in Stage 17 of that race, Sastre rebounded with another solo ride to victory in Stage 19 to Mount Vesuvius . He then completed the Giro with a solid ride in the final time-trial around Rome to hold off Ivan Basso and finished 2nd overall. In the 2009 Tour de France , Sastre attempted to defend his title but had
9010-665: The team. For example, rather than having the frame, handlebars, and tires designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction, his teams adopted a Formula One relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One", taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek , Nike , AMD , Bontrager (a Trek company), Shimano , Sram , Giro , and Oakley , collaborated for an array of products. For much of his career, Armstrong faced persistent allegations of doping. He denied all such allegations until January 2013, often claiming that he never had any positive test in
9116-401: The teams – where each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place at Trafalgar Square in London, the day before the opening prologue held in the city. The teams entering the race were: UCI ProTour teams Invited teams After the retirement of seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and with Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis not entering
9222-520: The three remaining cycles, he was given an alternative, vinblastine etoposide , ifosfamide , and cisplatin (VIP), to avoid lung toxicity associated with bleomycin. Armstrong credited this with saving his cycling career. At Indiana University, Lawrence Einhorn had pioneered the use of cisplatin to treat testicular cancer. Armstrong's primary oncologist there was Craig Nichols. On October 25, his brain lesions, which were found to contain extensive necrosis , were surgically removed by Scott A. Shapiro,
9328-413: The time trial, finishing the Tour with a 58-second lead. Following his overall victory in the general classification , Sastre found it hard to express his joy at finally achieving a boyhood dream; It's very moving, I've dreamt of this since I was a child. I'm beyond words, to be here with my family is really special. Sastre's victory capped an exceptional 2008 tour for CSC–Saxo Bank , as they also won
9434-408: The time. At the start of the 16th stage on 25 July, some teams made a protest against the laxness of the official attitude to doping in the race. After the stage, race officials announced that Cofidis team member Cristian Moreni of Italy had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone , and the Cofidis team withdrew from the race. Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO on
9540-464: The two names are mixed." Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong claimed that he suspended his professional relationship with Ferrari, saying that he had "zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs" and denying that Ferrari had ever "suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs". Though Ferrari
9646-403: The use of performance-enhancing drugs in the period between 2009 and 2011, claim the overall title ahead of Chris Froome . Chris Froome was later recognised as the 2011 champion. Bradley Wiggins was promoted to second place, and Bauke Mollema promoted to third. Shortly afterwards, he announced his retirement, bringing an end to a professional career spanning 15 years. Sastre is married to
9752-412: The whole tour was 41.7 km/h (26 mph). In 2005, Armstrong announced he would retire after the 2005 Tour de France , citing his desire to spend more time with his family and his foundation. During his retirement, Armstrong diverted his attention away from the happenings in professional cycling; however whilst at a conference, in 2008 , Armstrong saw Carlos Sastre 's win on Alpe d'Huez and "felt
9858-602: The year strongly at the World Championships in Agrigento , finishing in seventh place less than a minute behind winner Luc Leblanc . In a 2016 speech to University of Colorado, Boulder professor Roger A. Pielke Jr. 's Introduction to Sports Governance class, Armstrong stated that he began doping in "late spring of 1995." Armstrong won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, followed by an overall victory in
9964-437: The yellow jersey, was closely contested until the final time trial on stage 19. The top three riders, Alberto Contador in the yellow jersey as the leader, Cadel Evans in second, and Levi Leipheimer in third, were separated by only 2:49, with both Evans and Leipheimer recognized as far superior time trialists to Contador. In the end, each rider held his place after the final time trial, but with considerably slimmer margins, as
10070-412: Was a domestique for Ivan Basso, and 21st in the overall classification. However, as the captain of Team CSC's 2005 Vuelta a España campaign, Sastre finally reached the podium of a Grand Tour, finishing in third place behind Denis Menchov and initial winner Roberto Heras . Heras was later disqualified due to a positive EPO test, making Sastre the de facto second placed rider of the competition. After
10176-533: Was a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist with the Motorola team. Armstrong had success between 1993 and 1996 with the World Championship in 1993 , the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, Tour DuPont in 1995 and 1996, and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including stage 8 of the 1993 Tour de France and stage 18 of
10282-526: Was also asked to dispose of used syringes for Armstrong and to pick up strange parcels for the team. Allegations in the book were reprinted in The Sunday Times (UK) by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for libel, and the paper settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect". The newspaper's lawyers issued
10388-780: Was banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation , according to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as late as 2010 in a country outside Italy. According to Cycling News , " USADA reveals an intimate role played by Dr. Michele Ferrari in masterminding Armstrong's Tour de France success". According to the USADA report, Armstrong paid Ferrari over $ 1 million from 1996 to 2006, countering Armstrong's claim that he severed his professional relationship with Ferrari in 2004. The report also includes numerous eyewitness accounts of Ferrari injecting Armstrong with EPO on
10494-412: Was calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification was considered the winner of the Tour. There were no time bonuses given at the end of stages for this edition of the Tour. Additionally, there was a points classification , which awards a green jersey. In
10600-503: Was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named Team RadioShack . He made his 2010 season debut at the Tour Down Under , where Armstrong finished 25th out of the 127 riders who completed the race. He made his European season debut at the 2010 Vuelta a Murcia , finishing in seventh place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan–San Remo , Amstel Gold Race , Liège–Bastogne–Liège , and
10706-399: Was no holder of the yellow jersey. Afterward the lead and the jersey were transferred to Discovery Channel 's Alberto Contador . Rasmussen later in 2013 confessed to doping from 1998 to 2010, including at the 2007 Tour de France. There were four main classifications contested in the 2007 Tour de France, with the most important being the general classification . The general classification
10812-491: Was on a solo attack threatening to overtake Armstrong in the standings. While traversing the Côte de la Rochette Beloki crashed violently and hard, ending his Tour and sending him to the hospital with serious injuries. Armstrong narrowly avoided the same fate by reacting in time to avoid Beloki, but to do so he went off the road and ended up on a foot trail which led downhill through a field. He survived upright on his bike nearly to
10918-462: Was said to be considering taking action to recoup money from Armstrong in relation to the settlement and court costs. In December 2012 The Sunday Times filed suit against Armstrong for $ 1.5 million. In its suit, the paper sought a return of the original settlement, plus interest and the cost of defending the original case. In August 2013, Armstrong and The Sunday Times reached an undisclosed settlement. On August 23, 2005, L'Équipe ,
11024-686: Was that year. At 16, Lance Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively. In 1992, Armstrong turned professional with the Motorola Cycling Team , the successor of 7-Eleven team. In 1993, he won 10 one-day events and stage races, but his breakthrough victory was the World Road Race Championship held in Norway. Before his World Championships win, Armstrong took his first win at
11130-538: Was two, and when his mother remarried Terry Keith Armstrong, Lance took his stepfather's surname. He attended Plano East Senior High School . In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon ), Armstrong was ranked the number-one 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 total points in 1987 as an amateur were better than those of five professionals ranked higher than he
11236-426: Was won by Spanish rider Alberto Contador . The Tour was marked by doping controversies , with three riders and two teams withdrawn during the race following positive doping tests, including pre-race favourite Alexander Vinokourov and his Astana team. Following Stage 16, the leader of the general classification , Michael Rasmussen , was removed from the Tour by his Rabobank team, who accused him of lying about
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