Lance Armstrong: podcast appearances and interviews

Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist born on September 18, 1971. He initially gained recognition as a triathlete, becoming a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990, before turning professional in cycling with the Motorola team in 1992. Throughout his early career, he achieved notable success including the 1993 World Championship and stage victories in the Tour de France. In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer, which was potentially fatal; after his recovery, he established the Lance Armstrong Foundation, now known as the Livestrong Foundation, to support cancer survivors. Returning to competitive cycling in 1998, he joined the US Postal/Discovery team and won seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005, a record later stripped due to doping allegations. Armstrong retired after the 2005 Tour but returned to racing in 2009 with the Astana team, finishing third in that year's Tour de France. He continued racing with Team Radio Shack before retiring again in 2011. Investigations by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career and described his doping program as highly sophisticated and successful. Although he maintained his innocence initially, he admitted his involvement in doping publicly in 2013. Subsequently, he received a lifetime ban from sports governed by the World Anti-Doping Code. In addition to legal settlements, Armstrong paid substantial fines and settled civil lawsuits related to doping allegations.