Lance would compare his recovery from cancer like a time trial in the Tour. When his team manager would tell him he is thirty seconds up, he would want to go faster. Similarly in his battle against cancer, whenever he has news from the doctor about his progress, and whenever the doctors set new goals for him, he would almost will himself to achieve it. It’s a race to him. It’s a game, and he would achieve the goals set by his doctors without much trouble.
Post Cancer Lance Armstrong was a total wreck
Lance Armstrong finally conquered cancer. He would have to wait a year to find out whether he would have any relapse. By the end of one year, if there would be no relapse, there was little chance it would come back.
However the post Cancer Lance Armstrong was a far cry from the belligerent, supremely confident guy who would go out and thrash with anyone.
He was low in self esteem, and would go around telling people “its over, I am retired.”
It was not hard to understand his predicament. He had just come off a Stage 3 cancer, torturous chemotherapy treatment; treatments that were meant to demoralize and weaken the strongest of will power. Lance Armstrong’s will power had been whittled to an all-time low.
Fortunately, Lance was blessed to be surrounded with people who believed in him more than he believes in himself, at least at this point of time.
I can relate to an experience I had. In short, there was a point of time where I was contemplating breaking the scholarship bond I had with an MNC and pursue internet marketing. That requires a hefty amount of $70 grand and my own parents were not able to afford it. I hesitated to borrow from my girlfriend’s parents as it would represent an ultimate blow to my ego. But my girlfriend believed in me more than I believed in myself at this point of time, and she was the one who convinced that it would be worth it all in the end.
Lance’s manager, doctors, close friends quietly believed that they can change his mind. Eventually over cycling trips to Boone, a place where he dominated races and was revered by residents, he rediscovered his passion for cycling. A new Lance Armstrong was born.
Conquering the Mount Everest Of Cycling – Tour de France
The new Lance Armstrong cycled for a purpose, he wants to prove that there is life after cycling. He wants to inspire cancer patients all around the world that it is possible to stare cancer in its face, and not only that, to leave it in your wake as you pursue things that nobody thought possible.
Lance had also lost 15 pounds, which would be very beneficial in the steep ascends of Tour de France. His previous built was suited for flat sprints but the Tour de France was more than that, and Cancer had ironically prepared him for this.
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