Author | Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Autobiography |
Publisher | Putnam |
Publication date | May 22, 2000 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback), Audio CD, Audio cassette |
Pages | 288 pp (Hardcover edition) |
ISBN | 0-399-14611-3 (Hardcover edition) |
OCLC | 43684677 |
796.6/2/092 B 21 | |
LC Class | GV1051.A76 A3 2000 |
Followed by | Every Second Counts |
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life is a 2000 autobiographical book by American cyclist Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins.
The book was written shortly after Armstrong had won the 1999 Tour de France: he went on to win it six further times in successive years, establishing a record (later revoked due to his use of performance-enhancing drugs). In 1996, he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain, and was only given a 40 percent chance of living. This disrupted his career, but his success on his return prompted elements in the media to accuse him of doping.
The book covers his story from childhood to the 1999 Tour, and the birth of his first child. [1] [2] A subsequent autobiographical installment, entitled Every Second Counts and also with Sally Jenkins as co-author, continued the narrative until his 2003 Tour victory.
In light of the revelations made by the USADA investigation in 2012, the passages about doping in the book are doubtful. [3]
In 1993, 21-year-old Lance Armstrong becomes World Cycling Champion. In Austin, Texas, four years later on October 2, 1996, at age 25, Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer with metastasis to the lungs and abdomen. On October 3, Dr Jim Reeves removes Armstrong's diseased testicle. On October 5, after banking sperm, Armstrong begins chemotherapy. The first chemo cycle Armstrong undergoes is BEP.
After receiving a letter from and talking to an oncologist, Steve Wolff, [4] with events Armstrong discovers that the cancer has also spread to his brain. After Dr Wolff suggests Armstrong to get an opinion from Dr Lawrence Einhorn [5] —the foremost expert on testicular cancer—Armstrong went to the Indiana University medical centre in Indianapolis. He decided to receive the rest of his treatment there. On October 25, Armstrong's brain lesions were removed by Dr Scott Shapiro. For the three remaining chemo cycles Armstrong was given an alternative protocol, VIP, by Craig Nichols — the primary oncologist. Armstrong completed chemotherapy on December 13, 1996, and by February 1997, he was declared cancer-free.
In 1997, Armstrong launched the Lance Armstrong Foundation to support those battling cancer. On May 8, 1998, he married Kristen Richard. In 1999 their first child, Luke David Armstrong, was born.
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Tyler Hamilton is an American former professional road bicycle racer. He is the only American rider to win one of the five Monuments of cycling, taking Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2003. Hamilton became a professional cyclist in 1995 with the US Postal Service cycling team. He was a teammate of Lance Armstrong during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours de France, where Armstrong won the general classification. He was a key asset for Armstrong, being a very good climber as well as time-trialist. Hamilton appeared at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2004, he won a gold medal at the individual time trial. The first doping test after his Olympic victory gave a positive result, but because the backup sample was frozen, no doping offence could be proven. After he failed further doping tests at the 2004 Vuelta a España, Hamilton was suspended for two years from the sport.
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Francisco "Frankie" Andreu is an American former professional cyclist whose career highlights include riding as team captain of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team in 1998, 1999 and 2000. During his career, he won a number of race stages and finished fourth in the cycling road race at the 1996 Olympics. His testimony played a key part in the United States Anti-Doping Agency's investigation of fellow U.S. Postal cyclist Lance Armstrong's doping practices.
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L.A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong is a book by sports journalist Pierre Ballester and The Sunday Times sports correspondent David Walsh. The book contains circumstantial evidence of cyclist Lance Armstrong having used performance-enhancing drugs. The book has only been published in French.
Sally Jenkins is an American sports columnist and feature writer for The Washington Post, and author. She was previously a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. She has won the AP Sports Columnist of the Year Award five times, received the National Press Foundation 2017 chairman citation, and was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. She is the author of a dozen books. Jenkins is noted for her writing on Pat Summitt, Joe Paterno, Lance Armstrong, and the United States Center for SafeSport.
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Every Second Counts is a 2003 autobiography by cyclist Lance Armstrong written in collaboration with sports writer and columnist Sally Jenkins. It is a follow-up to Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life which was also written with Sally Jenkins. The narrative begins from after Armstrong's first Tour de France win in 1999 and continues up until his fifth win in 2003. The authenticity of the tale and Armstrong's anti-doping stance described in the work was challenged by a report from USADA in 2012, and in 2013 Armstrong confessed that he had used doping in that period.
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005, but was stripped of his titles after an investigation into doping allegations, called the Lance Armstrong doping case, found that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs over his career. As a result, Armstrong is currently banned for life from all sanctioned bicycling events.
John P. Donohue was an American physician. He was the Chairman of the Urology Department and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Indiana University School of Medicine. He pioneered treatments for testicular cancer, including the nerve-sparing technique. His work with Dr. Lawrence Einhorn led to an increase in cure rate of testicular cancer from 5% to 90%. He studied under Wyland F. Leadbetter. He began his career as a United States Navy officer while serving as the ship's surgeon aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp.
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