'It's a good feeling to be back'
Lance Armstrong seals return with Luxembourg win
Posted: Sunday June 14, 1998 04:03 PM
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Armstrong returned to racing in February after being sidelined for 16 months (AP) |
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) -- American cyclist Lance
Armstrong, who has made a remarkable recovery from cancer,
sealed his comeback with an impressive win in the Tour of
Luxembourg on Sunday.
Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service teammate Frankie Andreu won
the fifth and final stage of the four-day race, a gruelling
110 mile ride beginning and ending in Diekirch.
Armstrong's 21st place finish, one minute and 21 seconds
behind Andreu, made him the overall winner.
The 26-year-old two-times U.S. Olympic cyclist and 1993
world road race champion was diagnosed in October, 1996, with
testicular cancer which had spread to his lungs and brain.
At one time, Armstrong has said, doctors gave him only a
50-50 chance to survive.
He returned to racing in February after being sidelined for
16 months, during which he underwent chemotherapy and two
operations including brain surgery.
Armstrong, who is from Austin, Texas, says he is now clear
of any signs of the disease.
It was his first win in Europe since his return. He withdrew
from the Paris-Nice race in March saying he had tried to do too
much too early in the season.
"It's a good feeling to be back," Armstrong told
reporters.
Armstrong took a comfortable lead in the company of Laurie
Aus of Estonia in the first stage of the Tour on Thursday. But
he lost the leader's jersey to Aus in the fourth stage on
Saturday by two seconds.
He and his teammates pulled out a sensational effort in
Sunday's very difficult final stage.
Aus lost more than nine minutes to Armstrong and disappeared
from the top 10 of the final standings.
Results
1. Frankie Andreu (U.S.) U.S. Postal Service 4:19:49
2. Christian Andersen (Denmark) Team Home :37 behind
3. Torsten Schmidt (Germany) Chicky World same time
4. Dirk Mueller (Germany) Deutsche Telekom :39 behind
5. Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank same time
6. Bert Dietz (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 1:21 behind
7. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) GAN same time
8. Sergei Ivanov (Russia) TVM same time
9. Andrej Tchmil (Belgium) Lotto-Mobistar same time
10. Rolf Huser (Switzerland) Post Swiss Team same time
Final overall standings:
1. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal Service 17:14:29
2. Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank 3:06 behind
3. Dirk Mueller (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 3:16 behind
4. Stuart O'Grandy (Australia) GAN 3:51 behind
5. Jo Planckaert (Belgium) Lotto-Mobistar 4:10 behind
6. Torsten Schmidt (Germany) Chicky World 4:11 behind
7. Alberto Elli (Italy) Casino 4:12 behind
8. Rolf Huser (Switzerland) Post Swiss Team 4:16 behind
9. Tristan Hoffman (Netherlands) TVM same time
10. Marty Jemison (U.S.) U.S. Postal Service 5:02 behind
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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