Coordinates	33°0′0″N70°10′0″N
Official name	Astana
Native name	Астана
Flagsize	200px
Image shield	New_coat_of_arms_of_Astana.svg
Pushpin map	Kazakhstan
Pushpin label position	bottom
Pushpin mapsize	280
Pushpin map caption	Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates region	KZ
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name	Kazakhstan
Established title	Founded
Established date	1998
Leader title	Akim (mayor)
Leader name	Imangali Tasmagambetov
Area total sq mi	|area_total_km2722
Area land sq mi	|area_land_km2
Area water sq mi	|area_water_km2
Area urban sq mi	|area_urban_km2
Area metro km2	|area_metro_sq_mi
Population as of	August 1, 2010
Population total	708794
Population density sq mi	|population_density_km2958
Timezone	BTT
Utc offset	+6
Elevation m	347 |elevation_ft
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	010000–010015
Area code	+7 7172
Blank name	ISO 3166-2
Blank info	AST
Blank1 name	License plate
Blank1 info	Z
Website	http://www.astana.kz
Footnotes	}}

Astana (), formerly known as ''Akmola'' (Kazakh: ''Ақмола'' / ''Aqmola'', until 1998), ''Tselinograd'' (, until 1992) and ''Akmolinsk'' (Russian: ''Акмолинск'', until 1961), is the capital and second largest city (after Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010. It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Province, though administrated separately from the province as a federal city area.

The current mayor of Astana is Imangali Tasmagambetov. He was appointed on 4 April 2008.

Etymology

The word ''Astana'' in Kazakh literally means ''Capital'' but the word itself originates from Persian ''Astane'' ( means Threshold, border point) (Astana, from the verb Istadan (آستان) to stand (in respect)), and literally means "threshold" (royal or sacred, where people stand in respect or awe), implying where the court is seated (the capital city) or the body of a sacred person is interred (a shrine town). The city of Turkistan in Kazakhstan that hosts the body of the saint Ahmad Yasavi is also called the "astana" as is the city of Mashhad in Iran that is the burial place of the 8th Shiite Imam Reza. In fact, long before becoming the new capital of Kazakhstan, the city was "an astana," a burial ground of a saint, hence the old name of the city, Ak Mola (Ақмола), "white mausoleum."

In June 2008, a parliamentary proposal was put forward to change the city's name to "Nursultan," in honor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The idea was rejected by Nazarbayev himself, who said the decision of renaming the city will be for future generations. Despite this, some commentators think that the generic name Astana was deliberately chosen so that it would be renamed in honour of Nazarbayev after his death.

History

Russian and Soviet eras

A unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper Ishim in 1824, which later became the town of "Akmolinsk". During the early 20th century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War.

Kazakhstan hosted in the Stalinist era a series of Gulag-like labour camps, in total 11 camps that housed up to hundreds of thousands of internees and their families. Outside Astana, there once stood the ALZHIR camp, a Russian acronym for the Akmolinskii Camp for Wives of Traitors of the Motherland, one of the most notorious in the Gulag archipelago, which was reserved for the spouses of those considered "enemies of the people" by the government under Joseph Stalin.

In 1961, it was renamed "Tselinograd" ("Virgin Lands City") and made capital of the Soviet Virgin Lands Territory (Tselinny Krai). The city was at the centre of the Virgin Lands Campaign led by Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950s, in order to turn the state into a second grain producer for the Soviet Union. The high portion of Russian immigrants in this area, which later led to ethnic tension, can be traced to the influx of agricultural workers at this time. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under Joseph Stalin at the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Independent Kazakhstan

After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed "Aqmola", literally meaning "White Shrine".

In 1995, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and the capital was officially moved from Almaty on December 10, 1997. The new name, Astana, was bestowed in 1998.

Government officials cited several problems with keeping the capital in Almaty, such as the city's risk of seismic activity, insufficient room for expansion, and proximity to international borders. Additionally, parts of northern Kazakhstan are populated primarily by ethnic Russians, which raised fears of possible irredentist activity. Moving the capital to this area may have been an attempt to anchor it more closely with the rest of the country. Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.

Geography and climate

Location

Astana is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-desert steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. The elevation of Astana is at above sea level. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transient area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim. The older boroughs lie north of the river, whilst the new boroughs are located south of the Ishim.

Climate

Climatically, Astana is the second coldest capital in the world, a record formerly held by Canada's capital, Ottawa, until Astana became the capital (but far behind Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), with temperatures of to common in the early winter. The new city is also known to regularly freeze for around six months every year. Overall, Astana has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dfb''), bordering on a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification ''BSk''), with exceptionally cold winters and warm summers.

The average annual temperature in Astana is . January is the coldest month with an average temperature of . July is the hottest month with an average temperature of .

Note: The following chart contains significant errors listed for temperatures. It lists the record highs and lows for each month in place of the average highs and lows. For example, the chart states that the average high for July is around 107 degrees Fahrenheit; in reality, the average high temperature is only 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20.2 degrees Celsius). The temperatures listed are actually the ''record temperatures'', both high and low, that have been set for each month. However, the precipitation totals given appear to be correct.

Population/Demographics

As of July 1, 2010, Astana has a population density of 958 people per square kilometre and a population of about 705,897, of which Kazakhs, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars and Germans make up 65.2%, 23.8%, 2.9%, 1.7%, 1.5 % respectively. Other ethnic groups make up 4.9% of Astana's population.

In 1999, Astana had a population of 281,000. The ethnic mix was about 30% Kazakh and 70% Russian, Ukrainian and German.

By 2007, Astana's population has more than doubled since the move, to over 600,000, and it is estimated to top 1 million by 2030. Migrant workers – legal and illegal – have been attracted from across Kazakhstan and neighboring states such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Astana is a magnet for young professionals seeking to build a career. This has changed the city's demographics, bringing more ethnic Kazakhs to a city that formerly had a Slav majority. Astana's ethnic Kazakh population has risen to some 60%, up from 17% in 1989.

Many argue that a drive to attract ethnic Kazakhs northward was the key factor in shifting the capital, which was officially put down to lack of space for expansion in the former capital, Almaty, and its location in an earthquake zone.

According to preliminary figures, Astana had 700,000 inhabitants in late 2007. Kazakhstani official statistical service estimates city population 691,529 (1 March 2010). According to the 1999 Census, 40.5% of the population is Russian, 5.7% Ukrainian, 3.0% German, 2.6% Tatar, 1.8% Belorussian and 0.8% Polish. But at 41.8%, Kazakhs outnumbered Russians and were forming the largest ethnic group, while Ingush and Korean each accounted for 0.6%. Others, mostly Uzbeks, accounted for 3.8%.

Economy

Politics and government are the main economic activities in the capital, which also forms a Special Economic Zone. Since the move, Astana has seen one of the world's greatest building projects, as oil money has been spent on government buildings, a massive home for the president, a mosque, and numerous parks and monuments. The project is designed to make the town the centre of not only Kazakhstan, but all of Central Asia.

Cityscape

Town planning

Astana can be divided largely into a few different areas.

“Almaty” District

District was created on May 6, 1998 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Territory of “Almaty” District is 21,054 hectares (52 025 acres or 81.290 sq.miles). Population - 321.400 people. The district has five villages.

“Yesil” District

District was created on Aug. 5, 2008 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It occupies the territory of 31,179 hectares (77 045 acres or 120.382 sq.miles) Population - approx. 180,000 people.

“Saryarka” District

District was created on May 6, 1998 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan The territory of “Saryarka” district is 19,202 hectares (47 449 acres or 74.139 sq.miles). Population - 296,364 people.

Description

North of the railway line, which crosses Astana in an east-west direction, are industrial and poorer residential areas. Between the railway line and the river Ishim is the city center, where at present intense building activity is occurring. To the west and east are more elevated residential areas with parks and the new area of government administration to the south of the Ishim. Here many large building projects are underway; for example, the construction of a diplomat quarter, and a variety of different government buildings. By 2030, these quarters are to be completed. The original plans for the new Astana were drawn up by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Astana's current chief planner, Vladimir Laptev, wants to build a Berlin in a Eurasian style. He has stated that a purely administrative capital such as Canberra is not one of his goals.

Architecture

The old buildings that remained from the Soviet era are now being removed and replaced with totally new structures resulting in significant construction work throughout the city. President Nazarbayev has paid particular attention to Astana's architecture; most of the recently completed structures had been accredited to internationally acclaimed architects and designers such as Kisho Kurokawa or Norman Foster.

Bayterek

Bayterek is the most famous landmark in Astana. The legend behind this tower as a symbol is that it represents a poplar tree, where the magic bird Samuruk laid its egg. In the sphere on the top of Bayterek there is an imprint of president Nursultan Nazarbayev's hand.

In front of the Bayterek Tower in summer 2010, the largest open-air art exhibition ever in Kazakhstan took place: About 2.2 million people saw the international exhibition of ''United Buddy Bears''.

New buildings

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Pyramid of Peace)

The pyramid has been conceived and designed by architect Sir Norman Foster and engineers Buro Happold and inaugurated in September 2006. It contains accommodations for different religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and other faiths. It also houses a 1,500- seat opera house, a national museum of culture, a new “university of civilization”, a library and a research center for Kazakhstan’s ethnic and geographical groups. This diversity is unified within the pure form of a pyramid, 62 meters high with a 62 x 62-meter base. The building is conceived as a global center for religious understanding, the renunciation of violence and the promotion of faith and human equality. The Pyramid of Peace expresses the spirit of Kazakhstan, where cultures, traditions and representatives of various nationalities coexist in peace, harmony and accord. Bathed in the golden and pale blue glow of the glass (colors taken from the Kazakhstan flag), 200 delegates from the world’s main religions and faiths will meet every three years in a circular chamber — based on the United Nations Security Council meeting room in New York. ; Height: , total area: 25,500 sq.m.; Accommodates: Opera Hall for 1,500 seats, The Museum of National History, The Research Center of World Religions, Library of Spiritual Religious Literature, Exhibition and conference rooms

Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall

The Concert Hall has been conceived and designed by Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti as a result of an International Competition and inaugurated by president Nursultan Nazarbayev in December 2009. The building shape is reminiscent of the petals of a flower. These "petals" create an imposing envelope which encloses and protects all the functions from the extreme climatic conditions of Astana. It houses one of world’s biggest Concert Halls for classical music with a total of 3,500 seats in vineyard conformation, two small music, cinema and conference halls with 400 and 200 seats each, restaurants, bars and a lobby of about 3000sqm. The main music hall has been designed to adapt to all kind of performances such as classical, pop and traditional music concerts, theatre, ballet, conferences and cinema, by means of a special false ceiling design and a system of acoustic curtains. The building is approximately 200m long and rises up to 40m high for a total of 55.000sqm. The structure of the external wall (the “petals”) are reinforced concrete. The external cladding is done with blue back-painted transparent glass panels inspired by the colour of the Kazakhstan flag.

The Islamic Center

The Islamic Center was built in 2005 and was sponsored by the Emir of Qatar. It consists of a mosque, madrasah, and a library. The mosque has 4 minarets, 63 meters each, and has a capacity of 5,000 people. The height of the mosque's dome is 43 meters.

Ak Orda Presidential Palace

Ak Orda (Kazakh, "the white horde") is the official workplace of the President of Kazakhstan. Ak Orda Presidential Palace was built in 2004 of monolithic concrete as a five-story building. The lining was performed using 20–40 cm thick Italian marble. The height of the building is 80 meters and the total area is 36,720 square meters. Ak Orda includes a yurt-like hall designed of marble and granite, a marble hall for summits and official visits by foreign-country representatives, and a golden hall for negotiations and private discussions between the head of the state and the leaders of other countries.

Khan Shatyry

In December 2006, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled plans to build Khan Shatyry, a "giant, transparent tent", over an area of the city. The project was completed in July 2010. The tent is 150 meters high, and like the pyramid was designed by the British team of Norman Foster and Buro Happold

Transport Tower

[]]| Transport Tower]] Transport Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Kazakhstan, standing 150 meters high, its 34 stories completed in 2003. The building houses various governmental agencies and organizations, namely the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications.

Sightseeing

In the centre of town, the Avenue of the Republic acts as the main hub of activity. It is bordered by many stores, coffee houses, restaurants, night clubs and some casinos. Notable among these are the:

Modern governmental quarter

Ishim River waterfront

"Oceanarium"

Astana Central National Mosque

Islamic Center

Roman Catholic Cathedral (see Roman Catholicism in Kazakhstan)

Market hall

Bayterek Tower

Museums

Presidential Center of Culture

Kabanbay Batyr Mausoleum

Atameken Ethnic Memorial Complex: dedicated to a map of Kazakhstan. ''Ata-meken'' means ‘fatherland’.

The S. Seifullin Museum

Museum of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Theatres

The Gorky Russian Drama Theatre

The Kalibek Kuanyshbaev Kazakh Theatre: named after a Kazakh theatre actor

The K. Bajseitova National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Monuments

Monument Otan Korgaushylar

Memorial to the victims of political repressions

Memorial to Kazakhstan People who Perished in the Afghan War

Central Square with fountain and sculpture composition

Monument to Kenesary Khan

Architectural monuments

Church of Constantine and Yelena

19th-century buildings

Green Mosque Fence

Sport

Astana is home to FC Astana and FC Astana-64, of which the latter won the national championship in 2000, 2001 and 2006. The city is also home to the Astana Tigers basketball team who successfully took the 2004/2005 season title, as well as Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League. In addition, is a professional cycling team. They participated in the 2007 Tour de France wearing uniforms in Kazakhstani national colors, but were excluded during the race after the failed test of Alexander Vinokourov for illegal doping practises, and was banned from the 2008 race. Astana returned to the Tour de France in 2009 and won the overall Team Classification, with Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong finishing first and third respectively. In 2010 Contador again won the Tour de France with the Astana team, but announced in August 2010 that he would be leaving the Astana team to join the Sunguard-SaxoBank team in 2011.

A bandy team by the name of Dynamo-Astana has been formed, and an indoor bandy arena is being built for Dynamo. The 2011 Asian Winter Games will be partly held in the capital.

! Club	! Sport	! Founded	! League	! Venue
		2009	Kazakhstan Premier League
FC Astana-64		1964	Kazakhstan Premier League
	Cycling	2007	UCI ProTour
Astana Tigers	Basketball	2000	Kazakh Basketball League
Barys Astana	Ice hockey	1999	Kontinental Hockey League, Kazakh Ice Hockey League	Alatau Sports Palace

Transport

Astana International Airport was, like the plan for the whole new city, designed by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The Astana Metro is a planned underground construction in Astana.

Astana Train Station is an important hub for northern Kazakhstan, served by Qazaqstan Temir Zholy trains to most major cities in Kazakhstan, including Talgo expresses to Almaty. International trains leave for Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, most of them with a once a week frequency. Since the summer of 2008, the schedule systems show also a direct weekly train to Urumqi (in China's Xinjiang).

Sister cities

Astana is twinned with:

* İzmir, Turkey

* Ankara, Turkey

* Moscow, Russia

* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

* Kazan, Russia

* Saint Petersburg, Russia

* Amman, Jordan

* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Riga, Latvia

* Gdańsk, Poland (since 1996)

* Warsaw, Poland

Tbilisi, Georgia (country)>Georgia (since 2005)

* Seoul, South Korea

* Manila, Philippines

Beijing, People's Republic of China>China

* Margate, United Kingdom

See also

List of renamed cities in Kazakhstan

References

Bibliography

Schatz, Edward. ''Modern Clan Politics: The Power of "Blood" in Kazakhstan and Beyond''. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 2004.

Notes

External links

City of Astana Official website

Astana Haber Astana&Kazakhstan daily news in Turkish

Astana International Airport (official site)

www.astanaairport.com - Astana International Airport unofficial website (English)

Astana Research Project (German)

Travel to Astana

City map for GPS

AstanA view: photo from Central Asia

about astana

Train timetable Astana Moscow

Category:Astana Category:Populated places in Kazakhstan Category:Populated places established in 1824 Category:Capitals in Asia Category:Cities in Central Asia Category:Planned capitals Category:Provinces of Kazakhstan

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Coordinates	33°0′0″N70°10′0″N
name	Lance Armstrong
fullname	Lance Edward Armstrong
nickname	The Boss, Juan Pelota, The Texan, Mellow Johnny (from maillot jaune,French for yellow jersey)
birth date	September 18, 1971
birth place	Dallas, Texas, United States
height
weight
currentteam	Retired
discipline	Road
role	Rider
ridertype	All-Rounder
amateuryears	1990–19911991
amateurteams	US National Team
proyears	1992–199619971998–200520092010–2011
proteams	Motorola
majorwins	Grand Tours :Tour de France :: General Classification :: (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) :: 22 Individual Stages Stage Races :Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::General Classification (2002, 2003) ::Points classification (2005) :Tour de Suisse ::General classification (2001) :Tour de Luxembourg ::General classification (1998) Single-Day Races and Classics :World Cycling Champion (1993) :US National Cycling Champion (1993) :Clásica de San Sebastián (1995) :La Flèche Wallonne (1996)
updated	July 26, 2008
medaltemplates	}}

Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He last rode for (and helped found) UCI ProTeam .

In October 1996 he was diagnosed as having testicular cancer, with a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005, and is the only person to win seven times, having broken the previous record of five wins, shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil.

In 1999, he was named the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. In 2002, ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong announced his retirement from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009, and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. He confirmed he had retired from competitive cycling for good on February 16, 2011.

Career

Early career

Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Oak Cliff, Texas in the southern sector of Dallas. At the age of 12, he began his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He abandoned swimming-only competition after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon which he entered and won easily.

In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was Chann McRae, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion. Armstrong's points total for 1987 as an amateur was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.

It became clear that his greatest talent was for bicycle racing after he won the U.S. amateur championship in 1991. Representing the U.S., he finished 14th in the 1992 Summer Olympics. This performance earned him his first professional contract with Motorola, riding alongside Sean Yates. He won his first race with Motorola, the Trophee Laigueglia in Italy, beating the favourite Moreno Argentin. Also in 1992, Armstrong competed in the Tour of Ireland race.

In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races. He stunned the cycling world when at age 21 he became one of the youngest riders to ever win the UCI Road World Championship, held in pouring rain in Norway that year. Prior to his World's win, he took his first stage win at the Tour de France, in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to Verdun. He was in 97th place overall when he abandoned the 1993 race in the Alps after the 12th stage.

He also collected the Thrift Drug Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO national championship in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to a rider winning all three races, a feat previously unachieved. At the USPRO championship, Armstrong sat up on his bicycle on the final lap, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.

In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the Tour DuPont in the United States. His successes in Europe were second placings in the Clásica de San Sebastián and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, and this time won the Tour DuPont and took a handful of stage victories in Europe including the stage to Limoges in the Tour De France. He dedicated the win to teammate Fabio Casartelli who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet on the 15th stage, two days before.

Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour DuPont. However, his performances began to suffer and he was only able to compete for five days in the Tour De France. At Atlanta he was only able to finish 6th in the time trial and 12th in the road race in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Cancer

On October 2, 1996, then aged 25, Armstrong was diagnosed as having developed stage three testicular cancer (Embryonal carcinoma). The cancer spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. On that first visit to a urologist in Austin, Texas, for his cancer symptoms he was coughing up blood and had a large, painful testicular tumor. Immediate surgery and chemotherapy were required to save his life. Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove his diseased testicle. After his surgery, his doctor stated that he had less than a 40% survival chance. This decision may have saved his cycling career. His primary treatment was received at the Indiana University (IU), Indianapolis, Medical Center, where Dr. Lawrence Einhorn had pioneered the use of cisplatinum to treat testicular cancer. His primary oncologist there was Dr. Craig Nichols. According to Armstrong's first book, Dr. Shapiro convinced him that he was the right neurosurgeon for him by saying: "You'll have to convince me you know what you're doing," said Armstrong. "Look, I've done a large number of these," Shapiro said, "I've never had anyone die, and I've never made anyone worse." "Yeah, but why should you be the person who operates on my head?" Armstrong responded. "Because as good as you are at cycling"-he paused-"I'm a lot better at brain sugery.

In 2004, Armstrong finished first, 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of German Andreas Klöden. Ullrich was fourth, a further 2 minutes 31 seconds behind. Armstrong won a personal best five individual stages, plus the team time trial. He became the first since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up Alpe d'Huez was won in style by Armstrong as he passed Ivan Basso on the way despite setting out two minutes after the Italian. He won sprint finishes from Basso in stages 13 and 15 and made up a significant gap in the last 250 m to nip Klöden at the line in stage 17. He won the final individual time trial, stage 19, to complete his personal record of stage wins.

In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by David Zabriskie in the Stage 1 time trial by 2 seconds, despite passing Ullrich on the road. His Discovery Channel team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won the final individual time trial. To complete his record-breaking feat, Armstrong crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his 7th consecutive Tour, finishing 4m 40s ahead of Basso, with Ullrich third.

On July 24, 2005, Armstrong officially announced his retirement from professional cycling after his 7th consecutive Tour de France win.

Comeback II

Astana: 2009

Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008 that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France. "After talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden", Armstrong said on his livestrong.org website. ''VeloNews'' reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online.

The announcement ended speculation that he would return with in the Tour of California, Paris–Nice, the Tour de Georgia and the Dauphiné-Libéré. Astana missed the 2008 Tour de France after Alexandre Vinokourov was ejected from the 2007 Tour for blood doping.

Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008 that Armstrong would compete in the UCI Tour Down Under through Adelaide and surrounding areas in January 2009. UCI rules say a cyclist has to be in an anti-doping program for six months before an event, but UCI allowed Armstrong to compete. The Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, declared that Armstrong's participation would make the tour "the biggest sporting event in South Australian history."

In October 2008, Armstrong confirmed he would compete in the 2009 Giro d'Italia, his first participation.

On January 17, Armstrong said at a press conference for the Tour Down Under that his comeback was motivated by spending most of his days spreading the Livestrong message and raising national awareness of cancer. Though his fitness levels had supposedly returned to peak condition, Armstrong placed 29th in the race. Armstrong said he considered this a successful result, as the thousands of fans who flocked to Adelaide to see him compete – booking every hotel room in the city – added A$17 million to the South Australian economy, and the government rewarded his effort by pledging A$4.1 million towards the construction of a centre for cancer research.

Armstrong's Trek bicycle was stolen while he was in Sacramento, California, for the Amgen Tour of California. This time-trial bike was returned to the Sacramento police by an anonymous citizen on February 18, 2009, four days after it disappeared from the Astana team truck. A police statement read, "The facts surrounding how the person came into possession of the bicycle are not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation."

In February 2009, Armstrong was confirmed to compete in the Tour of Ireland from August 19–23, 2009, before then participating in the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit from August 24–26th in Dublin. The Astana Cycling team confirmed in early March that Armstrong would return to Europe to continue his comeback season with races at Milan – San Remo and the Vuelta a Castilla y León. He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in Baltanás, Spain and breaking his collarbone.

Armstrong flew back to Austin, Texas, for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation. On April 10, 2009, a controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager, Johan Bruyneel, stemming from a March 17, 2009 encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. When the official arrived, Armstrong claims he asked—and was granted—permission to take a shower while Bruyneel checked the official's credentials. In late April, the AFLD cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. Armstrong returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on April 29.

On July 7, in the fourth stage of the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the team time trial. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of Montpellier but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second (0.22) outside of Fabian Cancellara's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France in third place overall, 5:24 behind the overall winner, his Astana teammate Alberto Contador.

Team RadioShack: 2010–11

On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010. RadioShack was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named Team RadioShack. Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the 2010 Tour Down Under where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders that completed the race. He made his European season debut at the 2010 Vuelta a Murcia finishing in 7th place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan – San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Tour of Flanders, but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races. Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Amgen Tour of California, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside Visalia early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race. He showed fine shape after recovering from the Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg.

On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour de France prologue TT, finishing third, but was plagued by crashes in later stages that put him out of GC contention, especially a serious crash in stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyreneean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate Chris Horner. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador. He was also a key rider in helping Team RadioShack win the team competition, beating Caisse D’Epargne by 9 minutes, 15 seconds.

In October, he announced the end of international career after the Tour Down Under of January 2011. He stated that after January 2011 he will only race in the U.S. with the Radioshack domestic team.

Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling 'for good' on February 16, 2011, while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations.

Physical attributes

Armstrong has recorded an aerobic capacity of 83.8 mL/kg/min (VO₂ max), much higher than the average person (40–50), but lower than some other Tour De France winners, such as Miguel Indurain (88.0, although reports exist that Indurain tested at 92–94) and Greg LeMond (92.5). At his peak, he had a resting heart rate of 32–34 beats per minute (bpm) with a maximum heart rate of 201 bpm.

Collaboration of sponsors

Armstrong revolutionized the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of the team. For example, rather than having the frame, handlebars, and tires designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction, his teams adopted a Formula One relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One", taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek, Nike, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek company), Shimano, Sram, Giro and Oakley, collaborated for an array of products.

Family and personal life

Armstrong was born to Linda Mooneyham, a secretary, and Eddie Charles Gunderson, a route manager for ''The Dallas Morning News''. His great-grandfather was the son of Norwegian immigrants. He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His father left his mother when Lance was two and has two other children from another relationship. His mother later married Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance in 1974. Linda has married and divorced three times. Armstrong refuses to meet his birth father and has described Terry Armstrong as deceitful.

Armstrong met Kristin Richard in June 1997. They married on May 1, 1998 and had three children: Luke David, born October 1999, and twins Isabelle Rose and Grace Elisabeth, born November 2001. The pregnancy was possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, prior to chemotherapy and surgery. The couple filed for divorce in September 2003. At Armstrong's request, his children flew in for the Tour de France podium ceremony in 2005, where Luke helped his father hoist the trophy, while his daughters (in yellow dresses) held the stuffed lion mascot and bouquet of yellow flowers.

Armstrong began dating singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow in the autumn of 2003 and revealed their relationship in January 2004. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. In October 2007, Armstrong and fashion designer Tory Burch ended a relationship after several months. He dated American actress Kate Hudson from May–July 2008. On July 30, 2008, a representative for Hudson announced the relationship had ended amicably.

In December 2008, Armstrong announced that his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, was pregnant with his child. The couple started dating in July 2008 after meeting through Armstrong's charity work. Although it was believed that Armstrong could no longer father children, after having undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer, this child was conceived naturally. The baby boy, Maxwell Edward Armstrong, was born on June 4, 2009 in Aspen, Colorado. Armstrong announced the birth via Twitter. Armstrong has become a popular Twitter user with over 2.7 million followers in February 2011.

In April 2010, Armstrong, using Twitter, announced that Anna Hansen was having his fifth child. Olivia Marie Armstrong was born October 18, 2010.

Armstrong owns homes in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado, as well as a ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Armstrong is a fan of the University of Texas Longhorns college football program and is often seen on the sidelines supporting the team.

With regard to religion, he is agnostic, quoted as saying, "at the end of the day, if there was indeed some body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a god at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, 'But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven.' If so, I was going to reply, 'You know what? You're right. Fine.'"

Allegations of doping

For much of the second phase of his career, Armstrong has faced persistent allegations of doping. A number of high-profile cyclists and assorted journalists have alleged that he cheated. However, no allegations have ever been substantiated, and Armstrong retains respect and prestige in many circles.

In addition, Armstrong has been criticised for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as Paul Kimmage and Christophe Bassons. Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the peloton. Subsequently, Armstrong had an altercation with Bassons during the 1999 Tour De France where Bassons said Armstrong rode up alongside on the Alpe d'Huez stage to tell him "it was a mistake to speak out the way I [Bassons] do and he [Armstrong] asked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation of riders. Then he said 'Why don't you leave, then?' Armstrong confirmed the story. On the main evening news on TF1, a national television station, Armstrong said: "His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home". Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became a sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a "cancer in cycling". He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his "admiration for dopers" at a press conference at the Tour of California in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong. This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in ''The Sunday Times''.

Armstrong has continually denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs and has described himself as the most tested athlete in the world. A 1999 urine sample showed traces of corticosteroid in an amount that was not in the positive range. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance.

From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities. All of the tests were negative for performance-enhancing drugs.

Specific allegations

Armstrong has been criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari. Greg LeMond described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said, "I am not happy the two names are mixed." Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong suspended his professional relationship with him, saying that he had "zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs" and denying that Ferrari had ever "suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs." Ferrari was later absolved of all charges by an Italian appeals court of the sporting fraud charges as well as charges of abusing his medical license to write prescriptions. The court stated that it overturned his conviction "because the facts do not exist" to support the charges. Ferrari, however, is still banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation. According to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as recently as 2010 in a country outside of Italy.

In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs (''L. A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong''). It contains allegations by Armstrong's former masseuse, Emma O'Reilly, who claimed Armstrong once asked her to dispose of used syringes and to give him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms. Another figure in the book, Steve Swart, claims he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while members of the Motorola team, a claim denied by other team members. Allegations in the book were reprinted in the UK newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' in a story by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for libel, and the paper settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect." The newspaper's lawyers issued the statement: "The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression." (See also in ''The Guardian''). The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published "L.A. Official" and "Le Sale Tour" (The Dirty Trick), further cementing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.

On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief in Travis County District Court in Texas, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004 as an employee of Armstrong. Anderson worked for Armstrong for two years as a personal assistant. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of androstenone while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain. Androstenone is not on the list of banned drugs. Anderson stated in a subsequent deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using a banned substance. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

On August 23, 2005, ''L'Équipe'', a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "le mensonge Armstrong" ("The Armstrong Lie") that 6 urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for erythropoietin(EPO) in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods. Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, "Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in a strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected.' I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs." In October 2008, the AFLD gave Armstrong the opportunity to have samples taken during the 1998 and 1999 Tours de France retested. Armstrong immediately refused, saying, "the samples have not been maintained properly." Head of AFLD Pierre Bordry stated: "Scientifically there is no problem to analyze these samples – everything is correct" and "If the analysis is clean it would have been very good for him. But he doesn't want to do it and that's his problem." However, according to the results of an investigative report by Emile Vrijman (a Dutch lawyer and the former head of the Dutch anti-doping agency, which he headed for ten years), who was appointed by the UCI to head an independent investigations into the LNDD lab’s findings, it was determined that the analysis of the urine samples were conducted improperly and that they “did not satisfy any standard for doping control testing.” Vrijman’s report went on to state that handling and testing of the samples fell so far short of scientific standards, and that “the process that generated those results and the subsequent reports was so deficient” that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest that the results could "constitute evidence of anything,” and cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. But WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.".

In June 2006, French newspaper ''Le Monde'' reported claims by Betsy and Frankie Andreu during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a Texas company attempting to withhold a $5-million bonus; this was settled out of court with SCA paying Armstrong and Tailwind Sports $7.5 million, to cover the $5-million bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. The testimony stated "And so the doctor asked him a few questions, not many, and then one of the questions he asked was... have you ever used any performance-enhancing drugs? And Lance said yes. And the doctor asked, what were they? And Lance said, growth hormone, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone." Armstrong suggested Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his ''post-operative treatment'' which included steroids and EPO that are taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell-destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy. The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols, or his medical history. According to Greg LeMond (who has been embroiled with his own disputes with Armstrong), he (LeMond) had a recorded conversation, the transcript of which was reviewed by National Public Radio, with Stephanie McIlvain (Armstrong's contact at Oakley Inc.) in which she said of Armstrong's alleged admission 'You know, I was in that room. I heard it.' However, McIlvain has contradicted LeMond allegations on the issue and denied under oath that the incident in question ever occurred in her sworn testimony.

In July 2006, the ''Los Angeles Times'' published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case. The report cited evidence at the trial including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness. From the ''LA Times'' article: "The results, Australian researcher Michael Ashenden testified in Dallas, show Armstrong's levels rising and falling, consistent with a series of injections during the Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told arbitrators the results painted a "compelling picture" that the world's most famous cyclist "used EPO in the '99 Tour." Ashenden's finding were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the LNDD test results. The ''LA Times'' article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy and instant messaging conversation between Andreu and Jonathan Vaughters regarding blood-doping in the peloton. Vaughters signed a statement disavowing the comments and stating he had: "no personal knowledge that any team in the Tour de France, including Armstrong's Discovery team in 2005, engaged in any prohibited conduct whatsoever." Andreu signed a statement affirming the conversation took place as indicated on the instant messaging logs submitted to the court. The SCA trial was settled out of court, and the ''LA Times'' reported: "Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless." The ''L.A. Times''' article provides a review of the disputed positive EPO test, allegations and sworn testimony against Armstrong, but notes that: "They are filled with conflicting testimony, hearsay and circumstantial evidence admissible in arbitration hearings but questionable in more formal legal proceedings."

On May 20, 2010, former U.S. Postal teammate Floyd Landis accused Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003, and claimed that U.S. Postal team director Johan Bruyneel had bribed former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to keep quiet about a positive Armstrong test in 2002. Landis admitted there was no documentation that supports these claims. However, in July 2010 the president of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, revealed that Armstrong made two donations to the UCI: $25,000 in 2002, used by the juniors anti-doping program, and $100,000 in 2005, to buy a blood testing machine, and documentation of those payments does exist. Landis also maintains that he witnessed Armstrong receiving multiple blood transfusions, and dispensing testosterone patches to his teammates on the United States Postal Service Team. On May 25, 2010, The International Cycling Union disputed comments from Floyd Landis, "Due to the controversy following the statements made by Floyd Landis, the International Cycling Union wishes to stress that none of the tests revealed the presence of EPO in the samples taken from riders at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland," the UCI said in a statement. "The UCI has all the documentation to prove this fact." According to ESPN, "Landis claimed that Armstrong tested positive while winning in 2002, a timeline Armstrong himself said left him 'confused,' because he did not compete in the event in 2002."

On May 19, 2011, former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton told CBS News that he and Armstrong had together taken EPO before and during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours de France. Armstrong's attorney, Mark Fabiani, responded that Hamilton was lying. The accompanying ''60 Minutes'' investigation alleges that two other former Armstrong teammates, Frankie Andreu and George Hincapie, have told federal investigators that they witnessed Armstrong taking banned substances, including EPO, or supplied Armstrong with such substances. Fabiani stated in response that, "We have no way of knowing what happened in the grand jury and so can't comment on these anonymously sourced reports." Hamilton further claimed that Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour de Suisse; ''60 Minutes'' reported that the Union Cycliste Internationale intervened to conceal those test results, and that donations from Armstrong totaling US$125,000 may have played into said actions. Martial Saugy, chief of the Swiss anti-doping agency, later confirmed that they found four urine samples suspicious of EPO use at the 2001 race, but said there was no "positive test" and claimed to not know whether the suspicious results belonged to Armstrong. As a result, Armstrong's lawyers demanded an apology from ''60 Minutes''. Instead of apologizing, CBS News chairman Jeff Fager said CBS News stands by its report as "truthful, accurate and fair.", and added that the suspicious tests which Saugy confirmed to exist have been linked to Armstrong "by a number of international officials".

Handling of urine tests

In October 2005, in response to calls from the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for an independent investigation, the UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory, LNDD. Vrijman was head of the Dutch anti-doping agency for ten years; since then he has worked as a defense attorney defending high-profile athletes against doping charges. Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing. The report said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest they "constitute evidence of anything." The recommendation of the commission's report was no disciplinary action against any rider on the basis of LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority. The WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical.". The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured Dick Pound, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong.

In April 2009, Dr. Michael Ashenden said that "the LNDD absolutely had no way of knowing athlete identity from the sample they're given. They have a number on them, but that's never linked to an athlete's name. The only group that had both the number and the athlete's name is the federation, in this case it was the UCI." He added "There was only two conceivable ways that synthetic EPO could've gotten into those samples. One, is that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the '99 Tour. The other way it could've got in the urine was if, as Lance Armstrong seems to believe, the laboratory spiked those samples. Now, that's an extraordinary claim, and there's never ever been any evidence the laboratory has ever spiked an athlete's sample, even during the Cold War, where you would've thought there was a real political motive to frame an athlete from a different country. There's never been any suggestion that it happened."

Dr. Michael Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report "According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same (chronological) order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage." The Vrijman report also says "Le Monde of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France".

Armstrong's work outside of cycling

In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation has become one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research in the U.S., raising more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets During his original retirement beginning after the 2005 season, he also maintained other interests. He was the pace car driver of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the 2006 Indianapolis 500.

In 2007, Armstrong with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charity which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires non-athletes to volunteer and support the community. In 2008 and 2009 he appeared on the PBS Kids show ''Arthur'' as himself. In these two appearances he taught biking skills and helped spread cancer awareness, respectively.

In August 2009, Armstrong headlined the inaugural charity ride "Pelotonia" in Columbus, Ohio, riding over 100 miles on Saturday with the large group of cyclists. He personally addressed the riders the Friday evening before the two-day ride and helped the ride raise millions for cancer research.

Marathon

Armstrong ran the 2006 New York City Marathon with friends Robert McElligott and Lewis Miles. With Nike, he assembled a pace team of Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj to help him reach 3 hours. He struggled with shin splints and was on pace for a little above 3 hours but pushed through the last to 2h 59m 36s, finishing 856th. He said the race was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. "For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done. I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness." The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event. This camera, according to Armstrong, pushed him to continue through points in which he would have normally "stopped and stretched". He also helped raise $600,000 for his LiveStrong campaign during the run.

Armstrong ran the 2007 NYC Marathon in 2h 46m 43s finishing 232nd. On April 21, 2008, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2h 50m 58s, finishing in the top 500.

Politics

In the ''New York Times'', teammate George Hincapie hinted at Armstrong's running for Governor of Texas after cycling. In the July 2005 issue of ''Outside'', Armstrong hinted at running for governor, although "not in '06". Armstrong and former president George W. Bush, a Republican and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. Bush called Armstrong in France to congratulate him after his 2005 victory, and in August 2005, ''The Times'' reported the President had invited Armstrong to his Prairie Chapel Ranch to go mountain biking. In a 2003 interview with ''The Observer'', Armstrong said: "He's a personal friend, but we've all got the right not to agree with our friends."

In August 2005, Armstrong hinted he had changed his mind about politics. In an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the commitment that led him to retire from cycling. Again, on August 16, 2005, Armstrong told a local Austin CBS affiliate that he was no longer considering politics:

"The biggest problem with politics or running for the governor—the governor's race here in Austin or in Texas—is that it would mimic exactly what I've done: a ton of stress and a ton of time away from my kids. Why would I want to go from pro cycling, which is stressful and a lot of time away, straight into politics?"

He does intend to be involved in politics as an activist for change in cancer policies, however. In a May 2006 interview with ''Sports Illustrated'', Armstrong is quoted: "I need to run for one office, the presidency of the Cancer Fighters' Union of the World." ''Sports Illustrated'' quoted Armstrong that he fears halving his influence with legislators if he chose one side in politics. His foundation lobbies on behalf of cancer patients before United States Congress.

Teams and victories

Filmography

The Road to Paris (himself, 2000 documentary)

''Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004) (himself)

''You, Me and Dupree'' (2006)

''Arthur'' (himself – voice) 2 episodes

''The Simpsons''

Accolades

United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)

World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens International Trophy (2000)

Reuters Sportsman of the Year (2003)

Prince of Asturias Award in Sports (2000)

Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport (2003)

Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year (2003)

Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year (2000)

Trophee de L'Academie des Sport [France] (2004)

''Vélo d'Or'' Award by Velo Magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)

''Mendrisio d'Or'' Award in Switzerland (1999)

''Premio Coppi-Bici d'Oro'' Trophy by the Fausto Coppi foundation in conjunction with La Gazzetta dello Sport (1999, 2000)

''Marca Legend'' Award by Marca, a Spanish sports daily in Madrid (2004)

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award (2003)

ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)

ESPY Award for GMC Professional Grade Play Award (2005)

ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete (2000)

ESPN/Intersport's ''ARETE Award'' for Courage in Sport (Professional Division) (1999)

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year (1999)

Favorite Athlete award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (2006)

Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)

Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year (2002)

VeloNews magazine's International Cyclist of the Year (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)

VeloNews magazine's North American Male Cyclist of the Year (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005)

William Hill Sports Book of the Year: ''It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life'' (2000)

Union Cycliste Internationale: World Number 1 Ranked Elite Men's Cyclist (1996)

Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988)

Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006)

An asteroid, 1994 JE₉ was named 12373 Lancearmstrong in honor of him.

Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Tufts University (2006)

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award presented by the United States Sports Academy (1999)

See also

Cycling records

List of doping cases in cycling

References

Further reading

Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins: ''It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life'' (ISBN 0-425-17961-3), Putnam 2000. Armstrong's own account of his battle with cancer and subsequent triumphant return to bike racing.

Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins: ''Every Second Counts'' (ISBN 0-385-50871-9), Broadway Books 2003. Armstrong's account of his life after his first four Tour triumphs.

Linda Armstrong Kelly, Joni Rodgers: ''No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me'' (ISBN 0-7679-1855-X), Broadway Books 2002. Armstrong's mother's account of raising a world class athlete and overcoming adversity.

Daniel Coyle: ''Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour De France'' (ISBN 0-06-073497-3), Harper Collins 2005. Former writer for Outside magazine documents Armstrong's road to the Tour in 2004, teaching us about both Armstrong and the Tour.

Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: ''L. A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong'' (ISBN 2-84675-130-7), La Martinière . Various circumstantial evidence pointing to Armstrong doping. Pierre Ballester, David Walsh: ''L.A. Officiel'' (ISBN 2-84675-204-4), La Martinière . Why Armstrong gave up trial against the authors after publication of L.A. Confidentiel.

Sharon Cook, Graciela Sholander: ''Dream It Do It: Inspiring Stories of Dreams Come True'' (ISBN 1-884587-30-5), Planning/Communications 2004. Chapter 4 details Armstrong's efforts to return to championship form following his cancer treatment.

John Wilcockson: ''23 Days in July'' (ISBN 0-7195-6717-3), John Murray 2004. An account of how Armstrong won his 6th Tour title in 2004.

John Wilcockson: ''The 2005 Tour De France: The Last Chapter of the Armstrong Era'' (ISBN 1-931382-68-9), Velo Press 2005. The story behind Armstrong's final Tour de France before his first retirement and his 7th consecutive victory.

John Wilcokson: ''LANCE: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion'' (ISBN 9780306815874), Da Capo Press 2009. The story of what drives the 7-time Tour de France champion through the words of Armstrong's family, friends, rivals, and Armstrong himself.

External links

The Lance Armstrong Foundation

Team RadioShack

Lance Armstrong Profile on Versus

Derek Birley |after= Laura Hillenbrand |years=2000}}

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Coordinates	33°0′0″N70°10′0″N
name	Alberto Contador
fullname	Alberto Contador Velasco
nickname	El Pistolero
birth date	December 06, 1982
birth place	Pinto, Madrid, Spain
height
weight
currentteam
discipline	Road
role	Rider
ridertype	GC Contender
proyears	2003–200620072008–20102011–
proteams
majorwins	Grand Tours :Tour de France : :: (2007, 2009, 2010) : :: (2007) ::3 individual stages :Giro d'Italia : :: (2008, 2011) : :: (2011) ::2 individual stages :Vuelta a España : :: (2008) : :: (2008) ::2 individual stages Stage Races :Paris–Nice (2007, 2010) :Vuelta al País Vasco (2008, 2009) :Volta a Catalunya (2011) :Vuelta a Castilla y León (2007, 2008, 2010) :Volta ao Algarve (2009, 2010) :Vuelta a Murcia (2011) Single-Day Races and Classics :Spanish National Time Trial Championship (2009) Other :UCI World Ranking (2009) :Velo d'Or (2007, 2008, 2009)
updated	29 May 2011 }}

Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro d'Italia with team Saxo Bank-SunGard. He is the fifth racer in history, and the first Spaniard, to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling.

Contador is widely considered to be the best climbing specialist and stage racer in the world. Notable summit stage finishes on which he has victories include the Alto de El Angliru in the Vuelta, the Plateau de Beille in the Tour and Mount Etna in the Giro . After being widely expected to lose his tenuous lead in the 2007 Tour de France in that race's final individual time trial, Contador has become a more accomplished time trialist, with several victories in the discipline. He has earned a reputation as an all-rounder, a cyclist who excels in all aspects of stage racing which are needed for high places in the general classification.

Contador's career has been marked by occasional doping allegations, the foremost of which, the Operación Puerto doping case, led his team (a team unrelated in composition to the current Astana team, despite the same sponsor) to withdraw en masse from the 2006 Tour de France before it began. He was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but was also accused of doping after his victory in the race the following year. In September 2010, Contador announced that he had tested positive for clenbuterol in a control taken during that year's Tour de France, but although he was suspended during an investigation, he was cleared by the Spanish cycling federation. A review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport initially set for June 2011 was later deferred until November 2011.

Personal life and early career

Contador was born in Pinto in the Community of Madrid, the third of four children. He has an older brother and sister and a younger brother, who has cerebral palsy. Having previously practiced other sports, such as football and athletics, Contador discovered cycling at the age of 14 thanks to his elder brother Francisco Javier.

When Contador was 15, he began to compete in races at the amateur level in Spain, joining the Real Velo Club Portillo from Madrid. Although he got no victories that year or the next, he demonstrated great qualities and was soon nicknamed ''Pantani'' (after Marco Pantani, regarded as one of the best climbers of all time) for his climbing skills. In 2000, he experienced his first victories, winning several mountains classification prizes from prominent events on the Spanish amateur cycling calendar.

He dropped out of school at the age of 16 without having finished his Bachillerato and signed with Iberdrola-Loinaz, a youth team run by Manolo Saiz, manager of the professional ONCE cycling team. In 2001, he won the under-23 Spanish time trial championship.

Contador lives with his long-time girlfriend Macarena in the city of Madrid when not competing, and enjoys hunting in his spare time. He has a fascination for birds, keeping personally bred canaries and goldfinches at home.

Professional career

ONCE/Liberty Seguros (2004–2006)

Contador turned professional in 2003 for ONCE-Eroski. In his first year as a professional he won the eighth stage of the Tour de Pologne, an individual time trial. During the first stage of the 2004 Vuelta a Asturias he started to feel unwell, and after 40 kilometers he fell and went into convulsions. He had been suffering from headaches for several days beforehand and was diagnosed with a cerebral cavernoma, a congenital vascular disorder, for which he underwent risky surgery and a recovery to get back on his bike. As a result of the surgery, he has a scar that runs from one ear to the other over the top of his head. Contador started to train again at the end of 2004 and eight months after the surgery he won the fifth stage of the 2005 Tour Down Under racing for Liberty Seguros, as the team previously known as ONCE had become. He went on to win the third stage and the overall classification of the Setmana Catalana, thus winning his first stage race as a professional. He also won an individual time trial during the Vuelta al País Vasco, where he finished third, and the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie, where he finished fourth overall.

In 2006, he won stages at the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse in preparation for the Tour de France. Prior to the start of the race he was implicated along with several teammates in the Operación Puerto doping case by the Spanish authorities, and the team was not able to start. He was later cleared by the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling's governing body. Contador returned to racing in the Vuelta a Burgos but he crashed after finishing fifth in stage 4, when he was riding back down to the team bus, and briefly lost consciousness.

2007 season

After having been implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case, Contador was without a professional contract until mid-January 2007, when he signed with .

left|thumb|Contador wearing the [[General classification in the Tour de France|yellow jersey during the 19th stage of the 2007 Tour de France.|alt=A man with yellow clothes and a blue helmet, riding on a bicycle. In the background some spectators.]]Contador's first major professional victory came with the 2007 Paris–Nice, which he won on the race's final stage. Discovery effectively wore down the remnants of the race leader Davide Rebellin's Gerolsteiner team, allowing Contador to launch an attack on the final climb. With Rebellin leading the chase, Contador held off his competitors in the final kilometers, winning him the race.

In the 2007 Tour de France, he won a stage at the mountaintop finish of Plateau-de-Beille, and was second in the general classification to Michael Rasmussen. Upon Rasmussen's removal from the race before stage 17 for lying to his team about his pre-race training whereabouts, Contador assumed the overall lead and the yellow jersey, though he did not don it until after the stage. In the stage 19 individual time trial, he managed to defy expectations and keep hold of the yellow jersey by a margin of only 23 seconds over challenger Cadel Evans and 31 seconds over teammate Levi Leipheimer. As this was the Tour's penultimate stage, it was the last real competition of the race (since the final stage is traditionally non-competitive save for a bunched sprint to the finish line) and it secured Contador his first Tour de France victory. It is the closest the top three finishers in the Tour de France have ever finished to one another.

After Discovery Channel announced 2007 would be its final season in professional cycling, Contador announced on 23 October 2007 that he would move to the Astana team for 2008.

2008 season

On 13 February 2008, the organizer of the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation, announced that Astana would not be invited to any of their events in 2008 due to the doping previously perpetrated by Astana, despite the fact that its management and most of its ridership had changed before the 2008 season. Consequently, Contador was unable to defend his 2007 Paris–Nice and 2007 Tour de France victories. He went on to win his second Vuelta a Castilla y León, as well as the Vuelta al País Vasco by winning the opening stage and the final individual time trial. His next scheduled race and objective was the Dauphiné Libéré but his team received an invite to the 2008 Giro d'Italia one week prior to the start of the race. Contador was on a beach in Spain when he was told he was going to ride the Giro. thumb|upright|Contador wearing the [[general classification in the Vuelta a España|golden jersey during the 20th stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España.|alt=A man in yellow clothes and blue shoes, riding a bicycle, followed by a car. People are watching him from behind a fence.]]Despite the lack of preparation, he finished second in the first individual time trial and took the pink jersey after the 15th stage up to Passo Fedaia. Upon winning the final pink jersey in Milan, he became the first non-Italian to win the Giro d'Italia since Pavel Tonkov in 1996 and also the second Spanish rider to win the Giro after Miguel Indurain won in 1992 and 1993. He later emphasized the importance of this win by saying that "taking part in the Giro and winning it was a really big achievement, bigger than if I'd had a second victory in the Tour de France".

At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Contador competed in the road race and the individual road time trial. He did not finish in the road race, in which 53 of the 143 starters did not complete the course in particularly hot and humid conditions. He placed fourth in the individual time trial, eight seconds behind his regular teammate Leipheimer.

Contador entered the 2008 Vuelta a España as the main candidate to win. His biggest challenger was likely to be compatriot Carlos Sastre, who had won the Tour de France just a month before. Contador won stage 13 by attacking on the fabled Angliru climb and this resulted in him capturing the golden jersey as the leader of the race. He extended his lead by winning stage 14 to Fuentes de Invierno and maintained his lead in subsequent flat stages and the final time trial. That final time trial was won by Leipheimer by a wide margin. Contador later took some offense to Leipheimer seemingly riding with winning the Vuelta in mind, after it had been established earlier in the race that Contador was Astana's team leader. In the final standings, Contador finished 46 seconds ahead of Leipheimer and more than four minutes ahead of Sastre. The win made him the fifth cyclist to win all three Grand Tours, after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, and Bernard Hinault. In the process he also became the first Spaniard, youngest (age 25), and shortest amount of time to accumulate all three wins (15 months). He also became only the third cyclist to win the Giro and the Vuelta in the same year, joining Merckx (who did it in 1973) and Giovanni Battaglin (who did it in 1981).

Later in the year, Contador won the Vélo d'Or award for the best rider of the year for the second consecutive season. The Giro and Vuelta winner beat Olympic time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara and Tour winner Carlos Sastre in a vote by international cycling writers.

2009 season

On 9 September 2008, the seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced that he was returning to professional cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France. manager Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's former mentor and sporting director, said that he could not allow Armstrong riding for another team and later signed him. The announcement by Armstrong clashed with the ambitions of Contador, who insisted he deserved the leadership of Astana, and hinted at the possibility of leaving the team if he was given a secondary role supporting Armstrong. Contador was later given assurances by Bruyneel that he would remain team leader and decided to remain at Astana for the 2009 season. Contador later claimed the situation was drastically overblown by the media. Contador decided to miss the 2009 Giro d'Italia to focus on winning the Tour de France.

Contador started his 2009 season at the Volta ao Algarve race in Portugal, winning the overall classification, placing second on stage 3, and winning the decisive 33 km individual time trial. He was in position to win Paris–Nice again after winning the prologue and the toughest mountain stage, but suffered a breakdown in stage 7, losing his yellow jersey to fellow Spaniard Luis Leon Sánchez. Contador and his Astana team later blamed the breakdown on Contador eating inadequately, leaving him without the energy to chase attacks. Contador finished fourth overall. Contador continued his build up to the Tour by racing the Dauphiné Libéré. He put in a strong performance of the opening time trial and stayed in touch with race leader Cadel Evans on the longer time trial. However, the strong ride of compatriot Alejandro Valverde up the Ventoux distanced Contador and he rode to help Valverde take the Yellow Jersey while finishing comfortably in third place overall.

left|thumb|upright|Contador wearing the yellow jersey at the [[Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France|Champs-Élysées stage of the 2009 Tour de France.|alt=A man in yellow clothes, with a yellow helmet and yellow handgloves, riding a bicycle. Just behind him is another cyclist, in blue clothes.]]On 26 June 2009, Contador competed in the Time Trial of the Spanish National Championships. He stated that he entered the race in order to gain more experience on his new Trek TT bike, but he came away with a convincing victory over Luis León Sánchez, the defending champion, winning by 37 seconds. This is his first National Championship as a professional.

Contador won Stage 15 of the 2009 Tour de France by soloing to the finish line more than a minute ahead of most of his closest GC competitors, and in so doing took the general classification leader's yellow jersey. He then extended his lead on Stage 17, after finishing second in a breakaway of three riders with the same time as the stage winner, and then the next day he won the second time trial, increasing his overall advantage to more than four minutes.

Contador won his second Tour de France on 26 July 2009 with a winning margin of 4'11" over Andy Schleck. He finished 5'24" ahead of Lance Armstrong, who finished third in his return to the Tour after a four year absence. Contador has won the last four Grand Tour races that he has entered. During the celebration at the podium, the organizers of the Tour wrongly played the Danish National Anthem instead of the Spanish Royal March. In the aftermath of the tour, Contador and Armstrong engaged in a war of words, with Contador quoted as saying that, although Armstrong "is a great rider and [..] did a great Tour[, but] on a personal level [..] I have never admired him and never will", and Armstrong responding that "a champion is also measured on how much he respects his teammates and opponents." The sniping caused others, such as the director of the Tour, to wonder "what it would have been like to have had Contador and Armstrong in different teams."

On 31 July, Contador's agent (who is also his brother) announced that Contador had turned down an offer to remain with Astana under a new four-year contract because he had felt so uncomfortable being caught between the Kazakhstan owners of the team on one side and Bruyneel on the other, and he was hoping to leave Astana at the end of the year, although his contract did not expire until the end of 2010. However, on 11 August, Contador's teammate and close friend Sérgio Paulinho accepted a two-year contract with Team RadioShack, indicating that Contador might not be able to leave Astana as readily as he and his agent wished. This was confirmed on 15 August, when a spokesperson for the Kazakhstan sponsors of Astana said that they intended to sponsor the Astana team on the UCI ProTour through 2013 and that they intended to enforce the last year of Contador's contract with Astana in 2010.

2010 season

On 21 February, Contador won his first race of the season, the Volta ao Algarve, by winning its queen stage and finishing second in the final time trial. Due to new UCI regulations concerning the nose cone of time trial bikes, Contador did not use his Shiv time trial bike, and instead used the standard red Specialized time trial bike. On 14 March, Contador won his second Paris–Nice, finishing ahead of other pre-race favorites like Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez. His main attack came in the mountaintop finish to Mende, where he crossed the finish line alone and successfully secured the yellow jersey. Contador also competed in and concluded the Criterium International with a second place in the final time trial, only 2 seconds behind stage winner David Millar, while Pierrick Fedrigo successfully defended the ''maillot jaune'' against rivals such as Cadel Evans and Samuel Sánchez.

Contador was a favorite coming into the 2010 Tour de France, along with Team Saxo Bank-SunGard's Andy Schleck. On Stage 15 Schleck was race leader and pressing the pace over the day's final climb of Port de Bales when he threw his chain. Contador and Denis Menchov immediately moved to the front and attacked, pressing the advantage over the crest of the climb and all the way back down into Bagneres-de-Luchon. They were aided by Sammy Sanchez and two others making a group of five riders. Schleck chased hard, but had no other riders to help bridge the gap. By stage's end, he had lost the yellow Jersey and 39 seconds to Contador. Contador, who now had an eight second lead in the race, met with a mixed reception as he received the yellow jersey on the podium at the end of the stage. It is an unusual occurrence in the Tour for the new race leader to be met with whistles and cat calls as he is given the yellow jersey. The yellow jersey changing shoulders made a large difference in the remainder of the race, for now the onus was on Schleck to attack Contador, and not the other way around.

Jered Gruber, writing for ''Velo Nation'', argued that Contador was right to attack, defending him on the basis that Schleck did not wait for Contador when he was delayed behind a crash on the cobblestones in stage 3 and lost 1' 13" to Schleck, a crash that cost Schleck the aid of his best ally in the tour, his brother Fränk Schleck. But of course that was early in the race and neither rider had the yellow jersey at the time. Race commentator Paul Sherwen thought the attack in poor form, whereas his co-commentor Phil Liggett thought not. Schleck said he considered Contador's actions to be unsporting. Hours after the conclusion of the stage, Contador voiced an apology for his behavior on his YouTube channel. Five days later in the stage 19 time trial, Contador beat Schleck again, taking 31 seconds from him. Contador went on to win the Tour de France for the third time with an advantage of 39 seconds over Andy Schleck, the exact amount of time he had taken from Schleck on Stage 15. Contador became the seventh rider to win a Tour de France without winning a stage.

Contador has signed a two-year contract with Team Saxo Bank (Team Saxo Bank-SunGard in the 2011 season) to ride under team manager Bjarne Riis, who revealed that he would like Contador to try winning all three Grand Tours in one season, a feat never before accomplished. Contador's agent and brother Fran later countered the statement by saying it was "nothing but a dream". Within two weeks, three of Contador's Spanish teammates signed to make the same transfer: Jesús Hernández, Daniel Navarro and Benjamín Noval.

2011 season

Amidst the clenbuterol controversy, Contador earned his first win in the Vuelta a Murcia. He won the overall classification as well as two stage victories en route to his victory. Later in the month of March, Contador entered in the Volta a Catalunya, where he claimed a win on the third stage to Vallnord, maintaining his advantage until the end of the race. He also won the individual time trial of Vuelta a Castilla y León.

Contador competed in the 2011 Giro d'Italia, his first time racing in the Giro since his victory in 2008. Contador won the ninth stage on Mount Etna, his first stage win at the Italian Grand Tour. That stage gave him the overall lead in the Giro, as well as the points classification. He also won the mountain time-trial to Nevegal. On 29 May, Contador went on to win the race for the second time. In addition to winning the General Classification, Contador also won the Points Classification and finished second in the Mountains classification.

Despite the fact that he was scheduled to appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in early August, Contador announced in early June he would compete in the 2011 Tour de France. The CAS had planned to hear the case in early June but the dates were pushed back to early August. Contador aimed to become the first rider to win both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year since Marco Pantani accomplished the feat in 1998.

In the opening stage Contador got slowed down by a crash and lost more than one minute. He lost additional time in the team time trial at Les Essarts but finished second in the fourth stage up to Mûr-de-Bretagne. Contador suffered four crashes in the opening nine days of the Tour, injuring his right knee before facing the Pyrenees mountain stages. He was dropped in the final kilometer in the stage to Luz Ardiden and finished two seconds behind Andy Schleck at the top of the Plateau de Beille. On the sixteenth stage to Gap, Contador attacked on the ascent of the Col de Manse, with Cadel Evans and Samuel Sánchez joining him in taking a time advantage over the other favorites in the general classification, including more than a minute over Andy Schleck. He was also aggressive in the next stage to Pinerolo but unable to win time to the other favorites besides Thomas Voeckler and Ivan Basso. In the stage to Col du Galibier he lost time to the other favorites after Andy Schleck launched a solo attack sixty kilometers from the finish and Contador was later unable to follow the pace set by Cadel Evans. Contador launched an early attack on the last mountain stage to Alpe d'Huez, reaching the top of Galibier with Andy Schleck, but their effort proved unsuccessful and they were captured by the rest of the main contenders following the long descent from the mountain. Contador launched another attack on the first kilometers of Alpe d'Huez but he was eventually beaten to victory by Pierre Rolland with Samuel Sánchez second. Contador finished fifth in the overall classification, 3 minutes 57 seconds behind Cadel Evans, bringing an end to his streak of six consecutive Grand Tour victories.

Doping allegations

Operation Puerto

After final rosters had been presented for the 2006 Tour de France, Contador and five other members of the Astana-Würth team were barred from competing due to alleged connections with the Operación Puerto doping case. Contador and four other members of his team at the time, , were eventually cleared of all charges on 26 July 2006 by the Spanish courts and later two out of the five (including Contador) were cleared by the UCI. Each received a written document signed by Manuel Sánchez Martín, secretary for the Spanish court, stating that "there are not any type of charges against them nor have there been adopted any type of legal action against them."

In May 2006, a document from the summary of the investigation (''Documento 31'') was released. In it, Contador's initials (A.C.) were associated with a hand-written note saying, "''Nada o igual a J.J.''" (Spanish for "Nothing or like J.J."). J.J. were the initials of Jörg Jaksche, who later admitted to being guilty of blood doping prepared by the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2005. Contador was questioned in December 2006 by the magistrate in charge of the Puerto file. The rider declared to Judge Antonio Serrano that he did not know Eufemanio Fuentes personally. According to French daily ''Le Monde'', he refused then to undergo a DNA test that would have judged whether or not he had any link to the blood bags that were found in the investigation.

On 28 July 2007, ''Le Monde'', citing what it claimed was an investigation file to which it had access, stated that Contador's name appeared in several documents found during Operación Puerto. A second reference includes initials of riders’ names that appeared on another training document, although neither of those two references could be linked to doping practices.

On 30 July 2007, German doping expert Werner Franke accused Contador of having taken drugs in the past and being prescribed a doping regimen by Fuentes, who was connected with Operación Puerto. He passed his allegations on to the German authorities on 31 July 2007. Contador denied the accusations, saying "I was in the wrong team at the wrong time and somehow my name got among the documents." On 10 August, Contador publicly declared himself to be a clean rider in face of suspicions about his alleged links to the Operación Puerto blood doping ring.

2009 Verbier climb

During the 2009 Tour de France, former Tour champion Greg LeMond wrote a column for ''Le Monde'' in which he noted that Contador's time up Verbier was the fastest climb in the history of the Tour, which LeMond claimed would require a level of oxygen transport (VO₂) "that has never been achieved by any athlete in any sport," and demanded that Contador prove that he was capable of that level of aerobic ability "without falling back to the use of performance enhancing products." At a press conference later that day, Contador refused to answer questions about the article. Subsequently, other experts disagreed with the calculations in LeMond's article, which were done by French physiology professor Antoine Vayer, who was a trainer for the Festina cycling team until the Festina affair in 1998. Two physiologists claimed Vayer's assumptions overstate the needed level of oxygen transport, and that the level Contador needed, while "still quite high," is "not so high that you can definitively state that it can only be achieved via doping." A third, who noted that Vayer is the leading expert in this field and "more than anyone, knows how to look at a climb in context", nevertheless also questioned Vayer's assumptions.

2010 Tour de France

In September 2010, Contador revealed that a urine sample he had given on 21 July, a rest day in the 2010 Tour de France, had contained traces of clenbuterol. He has stated, due to the number of other tests he passed and that only a tiny amount of the substance was detected in the one he failed, that food contamination was to blame. Aiding credibility to the explanation, anti-doping doctor Don Catlin said that of the contaminants found in food supplements, clenbuterol is one of the more common. However, when asked if it was plausible that Contador had ingested the clenbuterol through contamination, Catlin said "without knowing what the level in his sample is, it's impossible to say." Contador stated that he is the victim, and he can "hold his head high" and that he thinks he should not be punished. Several people related to the sport said that there is little benefit from using the drug, especially in the amounts that were discovered.

There has been some skepticism of Contador's claim that contaminated meat was to blame. In 2008 and 2009, only one animal sample came back positive for clenbuterol out of 83,203 animal samples tested by EU member nations. Out of 19,431 animal tests in Spain over the same period, there were no samples that came back positive for clenbuterol.

Contador's urine sample, taken during the day before his clenbuterol positive sample, was reported to contain plastic residue indicating possible blood doping, but the test is not recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency, so no charges in relation to this finding were brought. A theory has circulated that blood doping could account for the minute traces if the clenbuterol was introduced through a transfusion of already contaminated blood, rather than ingestion or injection.

The UCI issued a statement reporting that the concentration was 50 picograms per millilitre, and that this was 400 times below the minimum standards of detection capability required by WADA, and that further scientific investigation would be required. Contador was provisionally suspended from competition, although this had no short-term effect as he had already finished his racing programme for the 2010 season. Contador had been informed of the results over a month earlier, on 24 August. Later the amount discovered was clarified as 40 times below the minimum standards, rather than the 400 times originally reported by the UCI. Contador's scientific adviser claimed that he would have needed 180 times the amount detected to gain any benefit in his performance.

In late January 2011, the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) proposed a one year ban, but it subsequently accepted Contador's appeal and cleared him of all charges. Contador returned to racing in February in the Volta ao Algarve, a race he won in 2009 and 2010. The UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency each appealed the RFEC decision independently to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March 2011, but he remains free to ride until their ruling is published. The hearing with CAS was initially scheduled for June, but following an extension requested by Contador's legal team, it was rearranged for August, In the week following the 2011 Tour de France and later postponed again until November 2011.

Major achievements

;2003 –

Tour de Pologne

* 1st, Stage 8 (ITT)

;2004 –

Vuelta a Aragón

* Winner mountains classification

;2005 –

Vuelta al País Vasco

* 3rd Overall classification

* Winner points classification

* 1st, Stage 5b (ITT)

Tour Down Under

* 1st, Stage 5

Setmana Catalana

* Winner overall classification

* Winner combination classification

* 1st, Stage 3

Tour de Romandie

* 4th Overall classification

* 1st, Stage 4

;2006 –

Tour de Suisse

* 1st, Stage 8

Tour de Romandie

* 2nd Overall classification

* 1st, Stage 3

;2007 –

Vuelta a Castilla y León

* '''Winner overall classification

* Winner combination classification

* Winner Spanish rider classification

* 1st, Stage 4

Paris–Nice

* '''Winner overall classification

* Winner young rider classification

* 1st, Stage 4

* 1st, Stage 7

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

* 1st, Stage 4

Tour de France

* 20px Winner overall classification

* 20px Winner young rider classification

* 1st, Stage 14

;2008 –

Vuelta a Castilla y León

* '''Winner overall classification

* Winner combination classification

* Winner Spanish rider classification

* 1st, Stage 1 (ITT)

* 1st, Stage 4

Vuelta al País Vasco

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st Stage 1

* 1st Stage 6 (ITT)

Giro d'Italia

* 20px|link=General classification in the Giro d'Italia|alt=Pink jersey Winner overall classification

Beijing Olympics

* 4th, Individual Time Trial

Vuelta a España

* 20px|link=General classification in the Vuelta a España|alt=red jersey Winner overall classification

* 20px Winner combination classification

* 1st, Stage 13

* 1st, Stage 14

;2009 –

Volta ao Algarve

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 4 (ITT)

Paris–Nice

* 4th overall classification'''

* 1st, Stage 1 (ITT)

* 1st, Stage 6

Vuelta al País Vasco

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 3

* 1st, Stage 6 (ITT)

Dauphiné Libéré

* 3rd overall classification

Spanish National Time Trial Championships

* 1st position

Tour de France

* ''' 20px Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 4 (TTT)

* 1st, Stage 15

* 1st, Stage 18 (ITT)

;2010 –

Volta ao Algarve

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 3

Paris–Nice

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 4

Vuelta a Castilla y León

* '''Winner overall classification

* Winner combination classification

* Winner Spanish rider classification

* 1st, Stage 4 (ITT)

La Flèche Wallonne

* 3rd position

Critérium du Dauphiné

* 2nd, overall classification

* Winner points classification

* 1st, Prologue (ITT)

* 1st, Stage 6

Tour de France

* ''' 20px Winner overall classification

;2011 –

Vuelta a Murcia

* '''Winner overall classification

* Winner points classification

* 1st, Stage 2

* 1st, Stage 3 (ITT)

Volta a Catalunya

* '''Winner overall classification

* 1st, Stage 3

Vuelta a Castilla y León

* 1st, Stage 4 (ITT)

Giro d'Italia

* 20px|link=General classification in the Giro d'Italia|alt=Pink jersey Winner overall classification

* 20px|link=Winner points classification in the Giro d'Italia|alt=Red jersey Winner points classification

* 1st, Stage 9

* 1st, Stage 16 (ITT)

2011 Tour de France

* 5th overall

Grand Tours overall classification results timeline

!Grand Tour	!2005	!2006	!2007	!2008	!2009	!2010	!2011
!Giro d'Italia	–	–	–	bgcolor=pink	–	–	bgcolor=pink
!Tour de France		–	style="background:yellow;"	–	style="background:yellow;"	style="background:yellow;"
!Vuelta a España	–	–	–	bgcolor=gold	–	–	–

References

External links

Alberto Contador Video Alberto does wind tunnel testing on new bike

|

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Giro d'Italia winners Category:Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners Category:Olympic cyclists of Spain Category:Sportspeople from Madrid Category:Spanish cyclists Category:Spanish Tour de France stage winners Category:Tour de France winners Category:Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Category:Vuelta a España winners Category:Tour de Suisse stage winners Category:Spanish sportspeople in doping cases

als:Alberto Contador ar:ألبيرتو كونتادور an:Alberto Contador br:Alberto Contador bg:Алберто Контадор ca:Alberto Contador Velasco cs:Alberto Contador da:Alberto Contador de:Alberto Contador et:Alberto Contador es:Alberto Contador eo:Alberto Contador ext:Alberto Contador eu:Alberto Contador fr:Alberto Contador gl:Alberto Contador hr:Alberto Contador id:Alberto Contador it:Alberto Contador he:אלברטו קונטדור ka:ალბერტო კონტადორი la:Albertus Contador Velasco lv:Alverto Kontadors lb:Alberto Contador lt:Alberto Contador hu:Alberto Contador nl:Alberto Contador ja:アルベルト・コンタドール no:Alberto Contador pl:Alberto Contador pt:Alberto Contador ro:Alberto Contador ru:Контадор, Альберто scn:Alberto Contador simple:Alberto Contador sk:Alberto Contador sl:Alberto Contador sr:Алберто Контадор fi:Alberto Contador sv:Alberto Contador ta:அல்பெர்ட்டோ காண்ட்டடார் th:อัลเบร์โต กอนตาดอร์ tr:Alberto Contador vi:Alberto Contador wa:Alberto Contador vls:Alberto Contador bat-smg:Alberts Kuontaduors zh:阿尔伯托·康塔多

Coordinates	33°0′0″N70°10′0″N
name	Jens Voigt
fullname	Jens Voigt
birth date	September 17, 1971
birth place	Grevesmühlen, East Germany
height
weight
currentteam
discipline	Road
role	Rider
ridertype	All rounder/Breakaway specialist
amateurteams	Berlin TSC
proyears	19971998–20032004–20102011–
proteams	ZVVZ-Giant-Australian Institute of Sport
majorwins	Tour de France, 3 stages Giro d'Italia, 1 stage Paris-Bourges (2003) Grand Prix des Nations (2001) Deutschland Tour (2006 & 2007) Tour de Pologne (2008) Critérium International (1999, 2004, 2007-09) Tour Méditerranéen (2005)
updated	29 May 2008 }}

Jens Voigt (born 17 September 1971 in Grevesmühlen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany) is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . Voigt is known for his propensity to attack, and for his positive racing attitude. He is capable of repeated attacking, holding a high tempo, and breaking away from the peloton. He has worn the yellow jersey of the Tour de France twice, though Voigt has never challenged for the overall title due to his lack of ability in the mountains. In cycling folklore, he is considered as one of the best rouleur riders to this day.

He is the riders' representative on the UCI ProTour council, for the Cyclistes Professionels Associés (CPA), and Voigt has spoken against doping.

Voigt is generally popular with cycling fans, both for his riding style and his affable, forthright and articulate style in dealing with the public and media.

Biography

Jens Voigt was born in a small town about 100 km north-east of Hamburg, in the same area as Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich. Jens was encouraged by his parents to participate in sports. His early performance indicated he had good endurance potential, and he joined a national sports school at age 14 and trained in cycling and track and field.

He won the Peace Race in 1994 and topped the UCI "Challenge Mondial Amateurs" rankings in December 1994. After a four-year stint in the German Army, much of it spent with a special sports unit, he started professional cycling in 1997, winning races for the Australian team ZVVZ-Giant-Australian Institute of Sport.

In 1998, with the support of his former Australian Institute of Sport Sports Director, German-born Heiko Salzwedel he moved to the big French team GAN (which became Crédit Agricole) where he spent the five years amassing 20 wins, among them a day in the maillot jaune in the 2000 Tour de France, and a stage in the 2001 Tour de France. Voigt played a part in Jan Ullrich's 2000 Olympic Games win for the German team.

In 2004, Voigt joined his former Crédit Agricole teammate Bobby Julich with a move to , as Saxo Bank was then known. Being tempo specialists, they formed a strong pair as they dominated the 2004 and 2005 LuK Challenge race, a two-man time trial.

Voigt rode the 2004 Tour de France for Team CSC captain Ivan Basso. Voigt and team mate Jakob Piil were often in breakaways, covering the break for CSC. On the 15th stage, Voigt was in a break as Ullrich attacked up the Col de l'Echarasson, leaving race leader Lance Armstrong and 2nd-placed Basso. With Armstrong's team unable to pull Ullrich back in, Voigt was ordered back from his breakaway to help Basso defend his place. Voigt saw Ullrich ride past as he waited for his captain, before he single-handedly closed the gap to Ullrich. Next day was a time trial up the Alpe d'Huez with 900,000 spectators at the roadside. Voigt was heckled by German fans calling him ''Judas'' for his effort to ruin fellow Ullrich's chances. Voigt criticised German TV-channel ARD for starting a witch-hunt against him and pleaded that he was paid by Team CSC, not Germany.

At the start of 2005, Voigt won the Tour Méditerranéen, ahead of team mates Fränk Schleck 2nd and Nicki Sørensen 4th. Voigt won the first UCI ProTour event, the prologue time trial of the 2005 Paris–Nice, a race Julich won overall. Voigt nearly won the 2005 classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he was beaten on the line by Alexandre Vinokourov, Voigt having been on a breakaway almost the entire race.

After a strong placing in the stage 1 time trial of the 2005 Tour de France, Voigt was only trailing race leader Armstrong by 1 minute and he tried hard to take the overall lead. He took part in many attacks, and the 9th stage, before the first rest day, finally got in a break-away that lasted to the line. He finished third, 3 minutes ahead of Armstrong. Voigt's time in the maillot jaune would be short-lived however, as he fell to 168th at stage 10 after a fever, and he was eliminated for failing to finish stage 11 within the time limit. Voigt ended 2005 as 29th on the UCI ProTour individual rankings.

For 2006, Voigt started slower than in 2005 to save energy for helping Basso to win the 2006 Giro d'Italia and 2006 Tour de France races. His only result until the Giro in May was an attack on the fifth stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco, but he had to settle for second behind stage winner Thomas Voeckler.

For the Giro d'Italia, Voigt rode in support of Basso. Following Team CSC's team time trial win on stage 5, Voigt found himself second, trailing race leader Serhiy Honchar by six seconds. During the first mountains, Voigt helped Basso take the overall lead, while he slid down the board and finished 37th. On mountainous stage 19, Voigt and Julich were in a 20-man break, but as Team CSC was leading the peloton to defend Basso's first place, Voigt and Julich did not work. Up the last climb, Voigt was alone with Spanish rider Juan Manuel Gárate, but as Voigt did not think he had done enough to deserve the victory, he let Garate take the win. Voigt finally got his first win of the season in the Ster Elektrotoer race in June. Here he won stage 4 and helped teammate Kurt Asle Arvesen to the overall win, two weeks before the Tour de France.

In the days before the Tour, Basso was suspended by Team CSC after his name had been brought up in the Operación Puerto doping investigation. Carlos Sastre became team captain. Voigt took the role of early attacker, to lessen the load for the team, and he formed or joined unsuccessful breakaways on several stages. On stage 13 from Béziers to Montélimar, longest stage of the 2006 Tour at 231 km, Voigt got in a five-man breakaway which finished 29 minutes and 58 seconds ahead of the main bunch. At the line, Voigt outsprinted Óscar Pereiro to take his second Tour stage win. On stage 15, Voigt helped Fränk Schleck from Luxembourg, pulling hard in the break with teammate David Zabriskie of the USA, which eventually gave Schleck the win. Voigt finished the 2006 Tour 53rd, helping Sastre finish 4th.

He abandoned the 2009 Tour on 21-07-2009 when he fell hard while descending the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard with the group of the yellow jersey during stage 16. He incurred a fracture of the right cheekbone and concussion.

Voigt and his wife Stephanie have six children, the youngest being born January 2011.

Palmarès

;1994 : 1st : 1st ;1996 : 1st ;1997 : 1st ::1st Stage 5B : 1st Prologue, Sachsen Tour : 2nd Overall Tour de Langkawi : 3rd Overall Peace Race ;1998 : 1st Stage 5A, Vuelta al País Vasco : 1st 20px Points Competition, Prudential Tour : Held ''King of the Mountains Jersey'' ;1999 : 1st : 1st Breitling Grand Prix : 1st Stage 3 Route du Sud : 1st Duo Normand (with Chris Boardman) ;2000 : 1st Grand Prix Cholet : 1st Bayern-Rundfahrt ;2001 : 1st Stage 4 TTT Tour de France : 1st Stage 16 Tour de France ::1 day in 20px ''maillot jaune'' Stage 7 : 1st Grand Prix des Nations : 1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 1st Tour de Poitou : 1st 20px Overall Bayern-Rundfahrt ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Duo Normand (with Jonathan Vaughters) : 1st Stage 6 Tour of Poland ::1st 20px Points Competition : 1st Stage 1 Route du Sud ;2002 : 1st Stage 3 Critérium International ::1st 20px Points Competition, ;2003 : 1st Paris–Bourges : 1st Stage 3 Critérium International : 1st 20px Overall Tour de Poitou ::1st Stage 4 ;2004 : 1st ::1st Stage 2 ::1st Stage 3 : 1st Stage 5 Vuelta al País Vasco : 1st LuK Challenge : 1st Bayern-Rundfahrt : 1st Stage 4 Danmark Rundt : 2nd overall, Deutschland Tour ;2005 : 1 day in : 1st Stage 3 Étoile de Bessèges : 1st ::1st Stages 1 ::1st Stages 3 : 1st Prologue Paris–Nice : 1st Stage 5 Vuelta al País Vasco : 1st Stage 4 Bayern-Rundfahrt : 1st LuK Challenge Chrono Bühl ;2006 : 1st Stage 13 Tour de France : 1st Stage 4 Ster Elektrotoer : 1st ::1st Stage 2 ::1st Stage 6 ::1st Stage 7 (ITT) : 1st Rund um die Hainleite : 1st Giro Bochum ;2007 : 1st Stage 3 Tour of California : 1st ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Stage 4 Vuelta al País Vasco : 1st ::1st Stage 8 ;2008 : 1st : 1st Stage 18 Giro d'Italia : 1st ::1st Stage 6 ::1st 20px Mountains Competition ;2009 : 1st ::1st Stage 2 : 4th Overall Tour of California : 6th Overall Paris - Nice ;2010 : 6th Overall Paris–Nice : 6th Overall Tour of California : 1st Stage 4 Volta a Catalunya

Teams

1997 - ZVVZ-Giant-AIS

1998 - Gan

1999 - 2003 Crédit Agricole

2004 - 2008 2009 - 2010 2011 -

References

External links

Profile at Saxo Bank

JensVoigtFacts.com - humorous "facts" about Jens Voigt

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:People from Grevesmühlen Category:German cyclists Category:German Tour de France stage winners Category:Giro d'Italia stage winners Category:Olympic cyclists of Germany Category:Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics

ca:Jens Voigt da:Jens Voigt de:Jens Voigt es:Jens Voigt eu:Jens Voigt fr:Jens Voigt it:Jens Voigt nl:Jens Voigt ja:イェンス・フォイクト no:Jens Voigt nn:Jens Voigt pl:Jens Voigt pt:Jens Voigt fi:Jens Voigt sv:Jens Voigt

Coordinates	33°0′0″N70°10′0″N
name	Andy Schleck
fullname	Andy Raymond Schleck
birth date	June 10, 1985
birth place	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
height
weight
currentteam
discipline	Road
role	Rider
ridertype	General classification rider
amateuryears	20042004
amateurteams	VC Roubaix ''(stagiaire)''
proyears	2005–20102011–
proteams
majorwins	Grand Tours :Tour de France ::20px Young rider classification (2008, 2009, 2010) ::3 stages :Giro d'Italia ::20px Young rider classification (2007) Stage Races : 20px Flèche du Sud (2004) : 20px Tour of Britain (2006) : 20px Tour de Suisse (2011) Single-Day Races and Classics : 20px U-23 National Road Race Champion (2004) : 20px U-23 National Time Trial Champion (2004) : 20px National Time Trial Champion (2005, 2010) : 20px National Road Race Champion (2009) : 20px Liège–Bastogne–Liège (2009)
updated	July 14, 2010 }}

Andy Raymond Schleck (born June 10, 1985) is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974. Andy Schleck won stage 8 of the 2010 Tour de France, in which he narrowly finished second in the general classification and finished with the white jersey for the third consecutive year.

Early years and family

Andy Schleck was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, and is the youngest of Gaby and Johny Schleck's three sons. His older brother Fränk Schleck is also a cyclist on Team Leopard-Trek, and his oldest brother Steve Schleck is a politician in Luxembourg. Andy's father, Johny Schleck, is a former professional cyclist and rode the Tour de France at the service of 1968 winner Jan Janssen and 1973 winner Luis Ocaña, and also managed to finish in the top 20 twice: 19th in 1970 and 20th in 1967. He won a stage in the 1970 Vuelta a España and the Luxembourg National Championships. Johny's father, Gustav Schleck, also contested events in the 1930s.

Career

Amateur

Andy Schleck joined VC Roubaix cycling club in 2004, and caught the attention of Cyrille Guimard, a sports director who became famous as the directeur sportif for several Tour de France winners, including Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, Lucien Van Impe and American Greg LeMond. Guimard described Schleck as one of the biggest talents he had seen and compared him to Laurent Fignon.

Still an amateur, Schleck won the 2004 Flèche du Sud stage race at 18. As the Danish national team were in the race, word spread to the Danish Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis. Riis asked Fränk, already on Team CSC, about his brother, and Andy started as a stagiaire for Team CSC on September 1, 2004. He secured a professional contract with CSC, and made his debut in a ProTour race at age 19 (the 2005 Volta a Catalunya).

Team CSC/Saxo Bank

He and Fränk shared the 2005 National Championships, Fränk taking the road race and Andy the individual time trial. In 2006, Schleck crashed in the GP Cholet and took an eight-week break before returning for the Volta a Catalunya in May. In July, a few days after his brother won the Alpe d'Huez stage of the Tour de France, Andy won the major mountain stage in the Sachsen Tour, followed by the final stage, finishing 23rd overall.

In the 2007 Giro d'Italia, he won the young rider classification and was second in the general classification after Danilo Di Luca. He finished fourth at the Giro di Lombardia after helping his brother Fränk, who crashed with six kilometres to go.

Schleck's success continued in 2008 when he won the young rider classification in the Tour De France, holding off Roman Kreuziger, and helping CSC win the team classification and Carlos Sastre the maillot jaune.

In 2009 he won the biggest victory of his career so far, when a strong April culminated with an impressive victory in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, as he became the first winner of the race from Luxembourg since Marcel Ernzer in 1954. A few days before he had finished runner-up in La Flèche Wallonne.

In the 2009 Tour de France overall classification, he finished the Tour in second place, behind Alberto Contador and ahead of Lance Armstrong, along with finishing Stage 17 in 3rd place behind his brother Fränk Schleck (1) and Alberto Contador (2). He again won the Young Rider Classification in the 2009 Tour de France.

In the 2010 Tour de France, he was much closer to the victory – against Alberto Contador again – but took the second place (by 39 seconds) and won Young Rider Classification for the third time in a row. Schleck was involved in a controversial incident on the Tour de France: When his chain fell off on a mountain stage, his main rival for the Tour, Alberto Contador, did not stop and thereby took the lead from Schleck. Some sections of the media saw Contador's behaviour as unsporting, and felt he should have allowed Schleck to regain the lost time. Schleck lost 39 seconds on that stage in the mountains, the same number of seconds by which he eventually lost the Tour de France. Schleck was only the second man to ever win the white jersey for best young rider 3 times; the first was Jan Ullrich who won in 1996–98. He also won two mountain stages, and rode in the yellow jersey for six days.

Leopard Trek

On July 29, 2010, Schleck and his brother Fränk announced their departure from Team Saxo Bank at the end of 2010. They formed a brand-new Luxembourg-based team with former Saxo Bank director Kim Andersen. Alberto Contador was hired to replace Andy Schleck as part of a two year contract signed with Team Saxo Bank.

In October 2010, the management of the new Luxembourg team revealed the team's website, labeled Leopard True Racing, leading to speculation that the team will race under that name. The site is located at leopard.lu. The team's name, as per Jakob Fuglsang, is simply .

In July 2011, Andy won the mountainous 18th stage of the Tour de France with a long solo breakaway ride. When interviewed after the stage for Channel 4 television he answered the first question by saying, "No guts, no glory". The day after he finished 9th overall in the 19th stage to take the yellow jersey. However the day after he was overtaken in the time trial penultimate stage 20 of the tour by Cadel Evans placing Schleck in second place going into the final stage in Paris once again.

Equipment

Andy Schleck uses 172.5mm crank arms on his bike, which are considered small for a man of his height.

Notable results

;2004 : 1st 20px U-23 National Road Race Champion : 1st 20px U-23 National Time Trial Champion : 1st ;2005 : 1st 20px National Time Trial Champion ;2006 : 1st : 1st Stage 3 Sachsen Tour : 1st Stage 5 Sachsen Tour ;2007 : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st : 4th Giro di Lombardia : 8th Overall Tour de Romandie ;2008 : 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 5th Olympics Men's Road Race : 6th Overall, Tour de Suisse : 12th Overall, Tour de France ::1st : 1st Stage 1 TTT Tour de Pologne ;2009 : 1st 20px National Road Race Champion : 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 1st Stage 2 Tour de Luxembourg : 2nd Overall Tour de France ::1st : 2nd La Flèche Wallonne : 8th Monte Paschi Eroica : 10th Amstel Gold Race ;2010 : 1st 20px National Time Trial Champion : 2nd Overall Tour de France ::1st :: 1st Stage 8 Tour de France :: 1st Stage 17 Tour de France ::Maillot Jaune 20px Stage 10 – 15 : 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 9th La Flèche Wallonne : 2nd Criterium Chihuahua ;2011 :1st :3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège :8th 2011 Tour of California : 2nd Overall Tour de France ::1st Stage 18 Tour de France ::20px Combativity Award Stage 18 ::Maillot Jaune 20px Stage 19

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- style="background:#eee;" !Grand Tour !2007 !2008 !2009 !2010 !2011 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|20px|link=General classification in the Giro d'Italia|alt=Pink jersey Giro | style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|- |- | style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=Yellow jersey Tour | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|12 | style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;"|2 | style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;"|2 | style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;"|2 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|20px|link=General classification in the Vuelta a España|alt=golden jersey Vuelta | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|- | style="text-align:center;"|WD | style="text-align:center;"|WD | style="text-align:center;"| |}

WD = withdrew NC = not classified

References

External links

Andy Schleck Official Site

Fanclub Fränk & Andy Schleck a.s.b.l.

The official site of Leopard Trek

Andy Schleck on Twitter

{{s-ttl|title=Luxembourgian Sportsman of the Year |years=2009,2010}}

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:People from Luxembourg City Category:Luxembourgian cyclists Category:Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic cyclists of Luxembourg Category:Luxembourgian Tour de France stage winners

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