Earlier this decade, Armstrong established his reputation on the unforgiving roads of France, Spain, Norway and Belgium, a rough-cut American interloper who challenged the elite of the European cycling fraternity on their home turf. In 1992, during his first professional race, the San Sebastian classic in the Basque region of Spain, Armstrong finished dead last, refusing to drop out of the race. That trademark perseverance was richly rewarded in 1995, when Armstrong became the first American to win a single-day "classic" - the San Sebastian.

By that time, Armstrong had already become a hero to millions of cycling fans at home and abroad, stunning the world in 1993 when he set off on a daring, solo breakaway on a cold, rain-soaked course in Oslo, Norway, to capture the World Championships. He became a hero to millions more for a simple act of loyalty after the race, when he was willing to forego a meeting with the king of Norway rather than leave his mother at a security gate. You don't check your mother at the door," he explained at the time.

At 21, Lance Armstrong had arrived, full of Texas swagger and unmatched determination. He immediately drew comparisons to Greg LeMond, the great U.S. champion who won the Tour de France three times. In the ensuing three years, he won the most demanidng race in the United States - the Tour DuPont - twice, as well as several stages in the Tour de France and numerous European races. When Armstrong's American-based team, Motorola, disbanded at the end of 1995, he agreed to a multi-million contract with a French team, Cofidis.

Then cancer struck, and Armstrong's legendary grit would be challenged again. The disease, an aggressive form of testicular cancer, had already spread to his lungs and brain. Attacking the cancer like the fierce competitor he is on a bicycle, Armstrong opted for immediate surgery followed by a brutal battery of chemotherapy treatments. After Cofidis released him as damaged goods, Armstrong faced emotional rejection, unable to find a team willing to take a chance on the former World Champion. He found only one - the new US Postal Service squad, which signed him to an incentive-laden one-year contract. During his therapy and recovery, he went to work establishing the Lance Armstrong Foundation to aid in the research for a cure for cancer.

In 1998, Armstrong was declared cancer free, but his battles in the demanding sport of cycling were just starting. The Alpha male mentality of the European peloton would sorely test Armstrong's resolve. He dropped out of the Paris-Nice race in March of 1998, and returned home to Texas to reassess his life. Deciding he had pushed himself too hard too soon, Armstrong opted to give bicycle racing one last chance.

Startling his doctors and the cycling community, Armstrong made enormous strides during the summer and fall of 1998, culminating with wins in the Tour of Luxembourg and the Cascade Classic, a fourth place finish in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), and two fourth-place finishes at the World Championships - in the time trial and the road race. The awards and recognition followed, with his selection as U.S. Cyclist of the year by VeloNews magazine and as a finalist for the Comeback Player of the Year by the ESPN network.