“The addictive part for me was the process,” Armstrong said on the Dan Patrick Show June 2 (see video).
“I loved going to the races, and ultimately playing it out and winning the race — whether we say that those happened or not, or I won or not, that’s for others to decide — but just the process, the training camps, the time with the team, with guys you love and trust, working hard, busting your ass to try to put it together.”
While his controversial Tour de France victories made Lance rich and famous, what he misses most is working hard for a goal. Armstrong won his first triathlon at age 13 and became a professional triathlete at 16.
While most athletes dislike the training, strict dieting and endless workouts their sports require, Armstrong totally embraced the preparation process. “I really miss that sort of behind-the-scenes, hard-work part,” said Lance.
Armstrong’s meteoric fall from grace following his high-profile doping scandal is the one of the biggest stories in all of sports history. In August 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Lance of his seven Tour de France titles, which he won from 1999 to 2005.
Because all 21 of the top-three finishers during Armstrong’s win streak were tied to doping, there is no official winner for the years Lance won the Tour, NBC News reported.
The Texas-born cycling legend, who was diagnosed with stage four testicular cancer in 1996, rebounded from the disease to win an unprecedented seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Ironically, had he not come out of retirement in 2009, his doping would have remained secret.
Since Lance, 43, is no longer allowed to compete professionally, he’s just a regular soccer dad these days. “I’m literally an Uber driver for my kids,” Armstrong laughed. “That’s all I do.”
