Lance Armstrong: Where Is He Now? Every Detail of the Former Cyclist’s Life Following the Doping Scandal

The former professional cyclist was often accused of doping beginning in 1999.

The French daily sports newspaper L’Equipe revealed in August 2005, a month after Armstrong’s seventh Tour de France victory, that six of his 1999 urine samples had been retested and had tested positive for the hormone EPO, which increases endurance.

Armstrong commented, “This thing stinks,” on Larry King Live at the time. “I have not used drugs, as I have stated for almost seven years. I’ll tell it one more. But it doesn’t help that I’ve been saying it for seven years. However, the truth is that I haven’t used drugs.

The World Anti-Doping Agency in France opened an investigation into the accusation, and he insisted to NBC’s Ann Curry in 2006 that he had never doped. After being cleared by the ICU, he participated in the Tour de France again and finished third in 2009. Since then, Armstrong has claimed that his failure was caused by this return.

In 2013, he said to Winfrey, “If I hadn’t come back, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Before losing his seven Tour de France victories in a row due to doping allegations in 2012, Lance Armstrong set a record.

Although his doping controversy damaged his reputation, Lance Armstrong hasn’t disappeared from the public eye.

The former athlete increased cycling’s worldwide appeal as one of the most well-known professional athletes of all time. After being given a testicular cancer diagnosis in 1996 at the age of 25, Armstrong’s career reached its pinnacle. Following chemotherapy, he established the nonprofit organization Livestrong, set a record by winning seven straight Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005, rose to A-list notoriety, and gained recognition for his charitable work.

Before admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he denied doing so for ten years. He acknowledged using human growth hormone, testosterone, EPO, and receiving blood transfusions during the sit-down.

“For a very long time, this plot was flawless. He said to Winfrey, “It’s this myth, this perfect story, and it wasn’t true.” “I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times, and as you said, it wasn’t as if I just said no and I moved off it.”

The disclosure occurred soon after he was officially accused of doping by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Armstrong lost all of his titles—including his Olympic medal and victories in the Tour de France—in 1998 when he decided not to file an appeal. In 2018, he also lost endorsement deals and had to settle with the US authorities for $5 million.

In his personal life, the Texas-born sportsman started dating Sheryl Crow shortly after divorcing his first wife, Kristin Richard, with whom he had three children: a son named Luke and twin daughters Grace and Isabelle. October 2005 saw their engagement, and February 2006 saw their breakup. Since then, he has gotten married again; in August 2022, he married Anna Hansen Armstrong. Olivia is their daughter, and Max is their son.

Armstrong hasn’t disappeared from the public view either; he currently presents two podcasts, THEMOVE and The Forward, and he took part in the Stars on Mars celebrity reality TV competition in 2023.

Here is all the information you need to know about Lance Armstrong’s current activities, over ten years after his doping controversy.

Lance Armstrong: who is he?

American cyclist Lance Armstrong used to ride professionally.

The competitor started participating in 1990 and made his Olympic debut in Barcelona in 1992. He was born and reared in Texas. He competed in the Atlanta Olympics and won his second Tour DuPont four years later. However, in October 1996, he received a diagnosis of advanced-stage testicular cancer at the age of 25, which put an end to his life and career.

According to NBC Sports, Armstrong declared, “I will win,” at a press conference regarding his diagnosis. “I plan to overcome this illness, and I also plan to resume my professional cycling career.”

In 1997, he established the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which was subsequently called the Livestrong Foundation. This nonprofit organization gained widespread recognition with its yellow rubber bracelets. Soon later, Armstrong’s cancer was deemed to be gone. He started riding professionally once more in 1998, and in 1999, he took home his maiden Tour de France victory.

“I’m hoping it sends a powerful message to all survivors worldwide. Armstrong stated, “We can go back to what we were before — and even better,” according to ESPN, as he crossed the finish line.

He set a record by winning the Tour de France seven times in a row between 1999 and 2005. Following his first victory, Armstrong gained rapid notoriety and became well-known for both his charitable work and sporting career. It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, his autobiography, was published in 2000.

After the 2005 Tour de France, Armstrong declared his original retirement. However, in a Livestrong video, he stated that he was making a comeback to raise awareness of cancer. In the Tour de France in 2009, he came in third, and in 2010, his final year, he came in 23rd. In 2011, the professional cyclist of that era declared his second retirement.

“I can’t say that I regret anything. It’s been a fantastic journey. Armstrong stated, “I truly believed I was going to win another Tour,” according to The Associated Press.

What charges did Lance Armstrong face?

Former teammate Floyd Landis, who was Armstrong’s lead rider on the U.S. Postal Service team, admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in a 2010 complaint.

Armstrong was charged by the USADA in June 2012 with doping offense concealment as well as PED use, possession, and trafficking. Armstrong declined to file an appeal. The rider said he had given up on the probe in a statement at the time, stating that “there comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now.”

Armstrong lost all of his results from 1998, including his seven Tour de France victories and Olympic medal, was barred from racing professionally for life, and had to refund any winnings.

A few months after his interview with Winfrey, in 2013, the federal authorities entered the civil complaint. It said that by lying to the public and USPS, who spent $31 million in sponsor fees to support Armstrong’s team from 1996 to 2004, he had broken his contract and committed fraud.

According to CNN, Armstrong’s agreement to pay the US government $5 million resolved the litigation in 2018.

Regarding his doping controversy, what has Lance Armstrong said?

For the most of his career, Armstrong was dogged by doping suspicions, which he refuted for ten years.

Upon the publication of the L’Equipe inquiry in 2005, the retired racer acknowledged that, although he had seen “slimy” French journalists during his first Tour de France, “this is perhaps the worst of it.”

“When you take into account my circumstances—a man returning from what is essentially a death sentence—why would I then play a sport, get stoned, and put my life in danger once more?” In 2005, Armstrong stated on Larry King Live. That is absurd. That is something I would never do. No. Not at all.”

He acknowledged using EPOs to increase red blood cell counts as part of his chemotherapy regimen during the interview, but he denied taking them for competitions.

In 2012, he claimed on his website that the USADA was seeking to “dredge up discredited allegations,” calling them “baseless” and “motivated by spite.”

“I have never taken drugs, and in contrast to many of my critics, I have participated in endurance sports for 25 years without experiencing any performance spikes, passing over 500 drug tests without ever failing one,” he declared.

But he was honest with Winfrey during a sit-down interview that same year. For the first time, Armstrong acknowledged doping in public.

It’s likely too late for the majority of people to act now. And that’s my fault,” he reportedly stated to CNN. “I lied a lot and this was one big lie that I repeated.”

Identifying as a “fighter,” “humanitarian,” and “jerk,” he acknowledged that he was “a bully… in the sense that I tried to control the narrative” and discussed how he became engrossed in his own tale of conquering cancer, a marriage that was once blissful, and his success in the world of business.

He added that he had disappointed the supporters who had stood with him over the years. “It’s my fault, and they have every right to feel betrayed,” he said. “I’ll try to regain people’s trust and make amends for the rest of my life.”

In 2017, Armstrong said to Stern that although the now-famous chat may have been “too soon,” “too detailed, and too shocking for a lot of people,” “it had to happen.”

I chose to sit with her because we already had a relationship, I adore Oprah, and I have faith in her, but I also knew I would be sued. “I f—— knew they were lining up when the report came out and they stripped the titles,” the man remarked. “I left there feeling like, wow, this is pretty good, and the reaction was brutal.”

Considering that this was “not a one-time conversation,” he was also worried about his kids’ reactions to the information.

He explained, “There was that conversation and there was therapy, and the older kids were old enough to kind of live it with me.” “Work was done. It’s a procedure.

Armstrong gave a detailed explanation of how he got away with cheating in a 2023 interview with Bill Maher for the Club Random podcast.

“I’ve been tested five hundred times,” said one of the lines. I’ve never tested positive for drugs. That is truthful. That is the actuality. He explained that he had done the arithmetic to make sure the tests wouldn’t detect the drugs. “There was no way around the test,” he added.

During an interview on The Great Unlearn podcast in March 2024, Armstrong disclosed that he sought rigorous one-on-one treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the years following his admission of doping.

He declared, “I went from hero to zero overnight.” “Many people cheered that.” That was deemed humorous by many. Many believed that I was deserving of that. Much of that is also true. Although I didn’t find it humorous, I did deserve it.”

Who is the spouse of Lance Armstrong?

In August 2022, Armstrong wed Anna, a yoga instructor, in a modest ceremony at Château la Coste in France. The pair met ten years prior to getting engaged in 2017. In 2009, their son Max was born, and in 2010, their daughter Olivia was welcomed.

Armstrong shared a part of his Instagram post with a picture from their wedding, saying, “Anna, you have been my absolute rock the past 14 years and let me be clear, I would not have survived them without you.” “I am incredibly proud of the couple we have become. We had to put in a lot of effort and I’m glad we did.”

Prior to their 2003 divorce, Armstrong and Richard were wed for five years. Their three children are twin daughters Grace and Isabelle (born in 2001) and a son named Luke (born in 1999).

He dated Sheryl Crow, Kate Hudson, and Tory Burch, among other celebrities, during the height of his career.

Lance Armstrong is currently where?

Although he has moved into new entertainment arenas, Armstrong hasn’t completely disappeared from the public eye since his doping disgrace.

Following a quarter of a century of hiding out in Aspen, Colorado, he returned to Austin, the city that served as his cycling career’s base.

The former Olympian currently broadcasts two podcasts: the interview-focused The Forward and THEMOVE, which concentrates on legendary cycling races. He declared in 2023 that he would be starting a series for the latter that would “dive into” the discussion of transgender athletes “with an open mind.” Caitlyn Jenner was a feature of the premiere episode.

The father of five starred in the 2020 documentary Lance, which was a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. In 2023, he made an appearance in the first season of Fox’s reality TV program, Stars on Mars.

Despite being unable to compete professionally, Armstrong resumed riding after a hiatus of several years.

In 2017, he claimed on The Howard Stern Show, “I hated cycling for three or four years because of what my life has looked like for the last four or five years.” “Had feelings are inevitable with any kind of breakup.”