July 25, 1999: The Miracle Man

PARIS - Lance Armstrong had a champagne flute in his hand, taking a pleasant ride with his teammates along the Champs-Élysées. The Tour de France was effectively over, this last stage simply a celebration of the event. The smile on his face was deceptive, hiding that fact that in the span of 22 days, this man had transformed from inspirational cancer survivor to dominating cycling force.

Actually, it didn't even take that long. Armstrong was in first place overall after Stage 8, having won the first two time trials in the 1999 Tour. His lead was a modest 2 minutes, 20 seconds as the Tour dipped into Italy for Stage 9. Facing the riders that day was a monster, a 133-mile ride through Sestrières outside Turin that finished with a massive uphill climb.

It was on this mountainside in the Italian Alps where Armstrong entered into legend, where the cancer survivor made the move that put him on top of the cycling world for nearly a decade.

Halfway through the race, Armstrong and the other overall leaders were riding together in a pack, about 30 seconds behind a couple of riders who had gone ahead in the stage. Armstrong decided that was enough. With the rain coming down, and in clear view of his closest challengers, Armstrong went after the stage leaders, trying to run them down. It didn't take long, and soon he was in the group of three stage leaders as they continued the climb.

But Armstrong wasn't done. Knowing that the Tour de France might very well be decided on this mountain, and knowing that the other overall leaders were struggling to keep up, Armstrong pushed his advantage, continuing to press his lead and daring anybody to keep up with him. Nobody could. By the time he crossed the finish line, nobody was within 30 seconds of him on the road. He had pushed his overall lead to 6 minutes. Even though there were 11 stages left to race, the Tour was effectively over.

By the time Armstrong got to Paris for the final stage on July 25, the race had turned into a celebration. It was a celebration for the miracle man who had been diagnosed with cancer just three years before, who was believed to be on his deathbed not long after. It was a celebration of the man who had never before seriously competed at the Tour, and who was now being hailed as its champion. He would go on to win an unprecedented six more Tour championships and become the most admired athlete in America, the face of the fight against cancer. And it all started with a climb up a rain-soaked mountain in Italy.