Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong achieved fame for winning the Tour de France 7 times in a row. He won the title consecutively from 1999-2005. Recently, Lance Armstrong went on to his Instagram profile to share a story reminiscing about a special honor given to him two decades ago.

Lance Armstrong shared a photo of him on the cover of a Sports Illustrated magazine and wrote, “20 years ago today… Time flies!”

Lance Armstrong: early days and descent into cancer

In the year 2002, Lance Armstrong was named the Sportsman of the Year and appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Armstrong started making strides in cycling and swimming from a young age. As a teenager, he participated in numerous triathlons. His ability as a cyclist caught the eye of the U.S. Cycling Federation leading them to recruit the talent.

He turned into a professional cyclist in 1992 when he joined the Motorola team. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer after 1996, which put a wench in his professional career since he had to go on a sabbatical to recover from the disease.

But Armstrong was lucky enough to beat cancer, and it changed his life. In an interview with Oprah, he said, “It caused me to focus on what’s important in life. But I’ve shown many times since that I’m not perfect.”

Armstrong’s life post-remission

After his recovery from testicular cancer, Lance Armstrong was doubtful about his comeback. He was not sure about his ability to compete.

He said, “My first race was in February [1998], then another in March. I put a lot of pressure on myself to win. When that didn’t happen, I quit and came home. My coach said, “You’ve got to try again.” So I went to a cabin in Boone, North Carolina, for eight or nine days. That’s when I fell back in love with my bike. I decided to race again, and I made myself one promise: I would finish every race I started. My first race after that was the Tour of Luxembourg. I won it.”

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His inspiration comes from his saying, “Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever.” During Armstrong’s first professional race, he came in dead last. But that did not stop him from cycling till the finish line.

Even after his win in the Tour of Luxembourg, he was skeptical about competing in the Tour of France. Instead, he went to compete in the Tour of Spain. He came in fourth in the event and finally gained some confidence to try out his hand at the Tour of France.

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While Lance Armstrong has won plenty of accolades, his career has not been free of controversies. But his survival story and fight against cancer are still an inspiration for the masses.