Birth of Lance Armstrong
Born as Lance Edward Gunderson to Linda Walling and Eddie Charles Gunderson, named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Lance Armstrong Biography and Timeline
Follow Lance Armstrong through 44 dated historical records for United States of America.
Lance Armstrong, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
44Distinct records
1 of 2Page
1971–2012Years on this page
1971
1974
Adoption
His father leaves his mother when Lance is two years old, his mother marries Terry Keith Armstrong, who adopts Lance in 1974
1990
Tour de France
Lance Armstrong meets former elite cyclist Chris Carmichael and works with him as his coach through all of his years at the Tour De France competitions
Triathlon Champion
United States National Sprint Triathlon Champion
1991
National Amateur Champion
Becomes US National Amateur Champion
1992
Classico San Sebastian
Signs with a professional cycling team, Motorola, and finishes last in his first professional race, the Classico San Sebastian
1993
US Championship
Wins ten titles including the US Pro Championship, and stage 8 in the Tour de France, and at 22 is the youngest road racing world champion ever
1995
Classico San Sebastian
Becomes the first American to win the Classico San Sebastian
Cyclist of the Year
Named the 1995 Velo News American Male Cyclist of the Year
Death of Lance Armstrong
Wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France after his teammate and friend Fabio Casartelli is killed in a descent during the 15th stage of that same Tour
1996
Health of Lance Armstrong
Has an orchiectomy to remove the diseased testicle, asked in an interview what Armstrongs chances are, Dr. Reeves, the surgeon, says "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."
Health of Lance Armstrong
Armstrongs last chemotherapy treatment
Belgian Classic Fleche Wallone
Becomes the first American to win the Belgian classic Fleche Wallone
Health of Lance Armstrong
Diagnosed as having stage three (advanced) testicular cancer (embryonal carcinoma), the cancer had spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen
World Champion
Ranked no 1 in World Cycling
World Ranking No 1
Ranked the number one cyclist in the world
1997
Health of Lance Armstrong
Declared cancer-free
1998
Vuelta a Espana
Armstrongs comeback is signalled by finishing 4th in the Vuelta a Espana
1999
Sports Athlete of the Year
Named the American Broadcasting Companys Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 1st time
2000
Its Not About the Bike
Publishes his memoirs, "Its Not About the Bike"
Jesse Owens International Trophy
Worlds Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens International Trophy
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 2nd time
his memoirs, "Its Not
Publishes his memoirs, "Its Not About the Bike"
memoirs, "Its Not
Publishes his memoirs, "Its Not About the Bike"
2001
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 3rd time
2002
Sportsman of the Year
Sports Illustrated magazine names him Sportsman of the Year
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 4th time
2003
Every Second Counts
Publishes his memoirs, "Every Second Counts"
Sportsman of the Year
Reuters Sportsman of the Year
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 5th time
his memoirs, "Every Second Counts
Publishes his memoirs, "Every Second Counts"
memoirs, "Every Second Counts
Publishes his memoirs, "Every Second Counts"
2004
Tour de France
Winner of the Tour de France, 6th time
2005
Tour de France
Vrijmans report "clears" Lance Armstrong because of improper handling and testing, the report says that tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible"
Retirement
Retires from cycling
Tour de France
Vrijmans report "clears" Lance Armstrong because of improper handling and testing, the report says that tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible". Winner of the Tour de France, 7th time, a record
2007
Athletes for Hope
Helps found Athletes for Hope, a charitable organisation, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community
2011
Retirement
Armstrong announces his retirement from competitive cycling
2012
Ban
USADA announces a lifetime ban from competition, applicable to all sports which follow the World Anti-Doping Agency code
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.