Lance Armstrong

Launce was born in Plano, Texas, and there he lived with his mom all through his childhood. It was just the two of them, and they had very little money. So Lance’s mom worked extra hard to give him a good life.

Lance loved sports. He swam. He ran. He just wouldn’t sit still and was always looking for action. So when Lance was about seven, his mom got him his first bike. It was an ugly brown, with yellow wheels but Lance loved it. Every day, Whenever he could, he rode his bike, Alone or with his friends. It took him anywhere he wanted, and he felt as free as the wind!

All that cycling made Lance very strong too. And he began to push himself to see how far he could go. He liked to do things his own way, and the more difficult they were, The more he wanted to try them out. Soon he was riding faster and farther than most grown ups. One day, He found that he had cycled all the way to the next state! And his mom had to drive down to pick him up.

Lance began to take part in racing competitions while he was in school. When he was thirteen, he won his first big race. It was the iron Kids Triathlon, Which combined three events- Swimming, Running and Cycling. Several races later, at sixteen, Lance turned professional. It meant that sport was no longer a hobby for him. He was earning money from it. Lance became the national triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. But he loved bicycle racing best, and began to focus on that. In 1993, Lance became one of the youngest bike riders to win the World Championship in Oslo, Norway. It was a good year for him and he won ten titles in all. The next year, he did something no one in the cycling world had done before. He won the thrift Drug Triple Crown, by winning their races in three places – Pittsburg, West Virginia and Philadelphia. The reward was one million dollars!

At Twenty-Five, Lance seemed to have everything. A new home. A fabulous sports car. Lots of money in the bank. And then... disaster struck.

In 1996, Lance was forced to quit in the middle of a race because he was in terrible pain. The doctors who examined him had only bad news for him. He was very, very ill with cancer Would he live... would he be able to race again? No one knew I will not give up. I ‘m going to fight this . And win! Lance promised himself. He was sick and in pain. He was tired all the time.But he kept riding his bike whenever he could Slowly, With treatment and the help of his family, He got better. And he began to think of others who had cancer. He had to help them, and for that he set up the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Lance also began training harder to get back his strength. Soon he was racing again!

In 1999, Lance won one of the most difficult bicycle races, the Tour de France. Can you imagine what it was like for him? Cyclists from all over the world take part in the race, and all over the world take part in the race, and it lasts for three weeks . The trail covers over 3,300 km, which is more than the distance from the southern tip of India to the Himalayas it goes all around France and touches places in some of the neighbouring countries. The trail runs through towns, villages and cities, and even over steep mountains. The climb up is difficult: the climb down is often dangerous. You ‘re on your bike the whole day and, in Lance’s words,” everything hurts . Your back hurts, your feet hurt, your hands hurt, your neck hurts,your legs hurt. It could be hot, hot, hot Or you could get caught in wind and freezing rain. Or get hit by a vehicle. One minute you’re pedalling away and the next minute...boom you’re face down in the dirt,” says Lance.

Yet, after fighting his illness, Lance went on to win the Tour de France seven times in a row from 1999 to 2005. He was back again in the race this Year as part of the Astana team. How does he do all this? Well he follows his own advice to the World DON'T GIVE UP.