As an era ends, our lasting memories will be of the bad not the good

I'm betting Lance Armstrong is thinking 'was it worth coming out of retirement?' right about now. Sure, he finished third last year and has strengthened his foundation's international image tenfold. But after Stage 8 of this year's Tour de France, it seems all the good luck of never falling off and seeing his rivals fall around him has come flooding back at Lance. Early crashes, a puncture on the cobblestones of northern France, more crashes in the Alps and losing almost 12 minutes to the main rivals will remain in our memories as the most vivid recollections of Lance Armstrong, which is a great pity.



As has been recounted many times, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 1996, which had metastasized to his lungs and brain. Despite a very poor prognosis, Armstrong recovered and went on to win 7 Tour de France titles between 1995 and 2005.


However, Armstrong is so much more than that. Before and during his majestic reign over professional cycling, he repeatedly put in dazzling performances to defy even the best predictions. My favourite (not that I witnessed it first-hand, but having read about and watched replays of it) is his win in Limoges in the 1995 Tour de France. 2 days beforehand, Fabio Casartelli, a teammate on Armstrong's Motorola team, crashed on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet in the Pyrenees. He suffered horrific head injuries and died on the scene. At the time, Armstrong was still a young, cocky, overly-eager rider but his performance on that day, in dedication of his teammate and friend, was spellbinding.


If I had to pick a favourite from his 7-year dynasty, it would be Stage 15 of the 2003 Tour de France. In a race where he was challenged by Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov and Tyler Hamilton, stage 15 was pivotal to his success. Despite attacking him numerous times, Ullrich couldn't shake the Texan. On the final climb to Luz-Ardiden, Armstrong was gearing up to attack the German when his handle bar caught a musette bag that a spectator had picked up after a rider discarded it. Known for his nous in avoiding crashes, this marked one of the very few times where Armstrong fell in his reign. There was some confusion as to whether Ullrich's group wait for Armstrong or continue at pace, as some feared his Tour may be over. Armstrong responded by catching Ullrich then blowing him apart, winning the stage. He kept his yellow jersey all the way to Paris.


Armstrong has certainly given us plenty to cheer about over his illustrious career. Whilst his ability to avoid crashes (whether through age slowing his reflexes or a simple turn of luck) has dissipated and effectively ruined his chances at an 8th Tour title, he now has the opportunity to fly free and give us one final memory. It would be very un-Armstrong-like to proceed through the last 2 weeks of the race without any drama. Hopefully, neither does Lance and he ends his dynasty over this great race with a bang.