Timeline: Lance Armstrong’s Tough Road
The embattled cyclist's rise and fall from grace.
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A Long Journey - In an interview airing on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network on Thursday, Lance Armstrong confessed that he used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) throughout his career. Armstrong had dodged doping allegations for years, but last year cycling’s governing agencies, citing concrete evidence, banned him from the sport for life. BET.com looks back at Armstrong’s rise — and fall — from grace. – Britt Middleton (Photo: George Burns/Oprah Winfrey Network via Getty Images)
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Early Days - He was born Lance Edward Gunderson on Sept. 18, 1971, in Plano, Texas. He was adopted by his stepfather, Terry Armstrong, in 1974. (Photo: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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Bike Dreams - As a child, Armstrong won a distance running race and soon started training on his first racing bike. At 13, he won the Iron Kids Triathlon and became a professional triathlete at 16 in 1987. (Photo: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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Early Feats - In 1991, he became the U.S. national amateur champion and finished 14th at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The following year Armstrong won the world championship, the USPRO championship and won one leg of his first Tour de France race. (Photo: Jor Patronite/Getty Images)
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Cancer Scare - In 1996, Armstrong had surgery and chemotherapy to battle advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. The following year he announced his foundation which would benefit cancer research. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised more than $470 million to date and has announced millions in grants for cancer research. (Photo: Mike Powell /Allsport/Getty Images)
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Back on the Grind - The cyclist resumed his training in 1997. He won his first Tour de France title in 1999, becoming only the second American to win the prize.(Photo: Tom Able-Green /Allsport/Getty Images)
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Tour de France Glory - Armstrong won five more consecutive Tour de France titles between 2000 and 2004, becoming the most decorated cyclist of his era. A number of tell-all books published in 2004 escalate speculation of Armstrong’s doping. (Photo: Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty Images)
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Livestrong - In 2004, Armstrong launched the Livestrong campaign, a fundraiser driven by the sale of yellow plastic bracelets that became ubiquitous among cycling enthusiasts and fans. By the end of 2005, more than 55 million wristbands were sold. (Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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The Beginning of the End - The cycling star announced that he will retire after the Tour de France in July 2005. He won his sixth and final title. In August 2005, reports surfaced alleging that six urine samples taken from Armstrong during the 1999 Tour tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a banned hormone that helps the body produce more red blood cells. (Photo: Doug Pensinger /Getty Images)
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Cleared in Initial Allegations - He was cleared of the 1999 doping allegations in 2006 and announced his return to professional cycling in September 2008. However, in April 2009, France's top anti-doping agency accused Armstrong of failing to cooperate in drug tests. (Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
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More Trouble Ahead - In May 2010, Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis said he used PEDs while riding for the U.S. Postal Service team and accused Armstrong and others of doing the same. More allegations from former teammates follow in the coming months, with some labeling Armstrong as “the instigator” in getting others to use EPO, according to reports. Armstrong denies those allegations. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Retirement and USADA Investigation - Armstrong announced his retirement for a second time in February 2011. U.S. federal prosecutors drop criminal charges against him in February 2012, but the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officially charged Armstrong with doping and trafficking of drugs in June, banning him from competing in cycling and triathlon. In August, Armstrong said he will not fight USADA’s charges.(Photo: Gail Oskin/Getty Images)
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The Final Fallout - In the end, citing sufficient evidence, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned Armstrong from cycling for life and he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and lost lucrative endorsements from Nike and Budweiser. In October 2012, the disgraced star announced that he was stepping down as chairman of his foundation. (Photo: Lucas Jackson /Landov/REUTERS)
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Coming Clean - Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong reportedly admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his career. In a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong told her than he use banned substances. The interview airs on Winfrey’s OWN Network on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.(Photos from left: Jemal Countess/Getty Images, Cooper Neill/Getty Images)