To my friends and family, you know my love for Lance Armstrong runs deep. While many think he is a "douchebag" or a "cheater", I think he is an amazing human being. I've read most of the books about him, my favourites being "It's Not About the Bike" and "Lance" by John Wilcockson. These books taught me so much about his life and his hurdles throughout it, that they almost overshadow his cycling accomplishments. Make no mistake though, there is no denying that Armstrong is a freakishly amazing athlete.
Even from a young age, he was a champion runner, swimmer, and cyclist. He did it all: marathons, triathlons, and cycling tours. Capturing 7 Tour De France titles, Lance will most likely hold that record for consecutive tour wins. Some say he doped - I think he has extraordinary physical attributes. I read that he has an aerobic capacity that is almost double that of an average persons. If you read his books, you know how much he trained, and more importantly, how he trained for the Tour de France. Even if they find any factual evidence of Armstrong cheated, he still won on a level playing field. His rivals have all been busted for doping and disgraced the sport with media around the world. I'm just glad they still show it on TV and that this year I will be able to watch some of the stages on TSN :)
Armstrong battled so much, and worked so hard to get to where he has. His legacy to me will always be the Livestrong foundation and how he raised so much awareness for cancer and research. I still wear my yellow Livestrong bracelet proudly :)
Have a good retirement Lance!
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