Armstrong: Going For #7
SEVENTH WONDER OF THE WORLD
It is the most grueling test of human endurance. More than 2,200 miles of sweat and adrenalin. And one man has won it for the seventh consecutive year, entering the history books as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
The pride of Texas, Lance Armstrong has crowned his career by winning the Tour de France yet again. His sixth victory last year put him above legends like Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil. With seven wins, his name now enters the pantheon of cycling.
Lance says he can now walk away from the sport with no regrets. "In five, ten, fifteen, twenty years, we’ll see what the legacy is. But I think we did come along and revolutionize the cycling part, the training part, the equipment part. We’re fanatics."
The fanaticism is probably why he connected so well with Oakley, even from his early days.
Lance was a brash triathlete in the ’80s. He pursued a career in road cycling and became an Oakley athlete in 1990, earning the title of U.S. National Amateur Champion a year later. By 1993, he became the youngest World Road Champion and achieved his first stage win at the Tour de France.
"Sacrifice and suffering are what make the difference," Lance once said, "the difference between he who will become a genuine champion and he who will never be one."
In 1996, Lance faced a different kind of suffering. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer. They discovered it was spreading to his lungs. Then they found it in his brain. Lance no longer had health insurance from his old cycling team, and no sponsor would step forward to offer financial support. Except for Oakley. Not only did Oakley continue to honor its contract with Lance, it hired him as an employee and put him on the company’s health insurance. Lance never gave up, and Oakley wasn’t about to give up on Lance.
First came the venom of chemotherapy, then multiple surgeries. Lance rebuilt his body until his legs became the ultimate two-piston engine. In the greatest comeback in sporting history, he won his first Tour de France in 1999. Six more years brought six more victories, a feat achieved by no other cyclist in history.
Throughout Lance’s career, we made his obsession our own. It has been our honor to be with him for the last 15 years as he defied the limits of possibility. Oakley congratulates him on his 7th consecutive Tour de France victory, and we look forward to whatever his future may bring.
For more information on Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France, click 
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