Au revoir, Lance!

Au revoir, Lance!
By Akshay A. Kalbag
A hero, an inspiration, a symbol of hope, a champion, a survivor–the seven–time Tour de France champion, cyclist Lance Armstrong is all of these and more rolled into one.
The 33–year–old Texan has overcome tremendous physical, mental and emotional odds to overcome the most demanding test of endurance not once, not twice, not thrice, not four times, not five times, not six times, but believe it or not, seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005.
This is not a farewell speech in honour of the amazing Armstrong, but it is, in fact, a tribute to the man who overcame cancer and showed awesome power and seemingly unlimited stamina to wear the coveted “maillot jaune” (yellow jersey) seven times in a row.
When he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was given less than half a chance of survival, he underwent surgery and aggressive chemotherapy and bounced back in the extraordinary style expected of a true champion.
That was the same year he signed up for the Cofidis team. He represented Cofidis for one year and left them in 1997 under a cloud. The other low point of Armstrong’s life was his split from his wife in 2003.
But the ‘crow’ning glory of his personal life came in 2004 when he started dating rock singer Sheryl Crow. That year, he also won the Tour de France for the sixth straight time, beating the previous record of five set by Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgian Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain of Spain.
On 24 July 2005, Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France, representing Discovery Channel (he was a member of the US Postal team from 1997 until last year.)
His strong arms (excuse the pun!) and legs bear ample proof of Armstrong’s tremendous physical stamina.
The end of Lance’s career marks the end of an era. With no clear successor, the American leaves behind a rich legacy (or should I say, an ‘ull’ rich one) which was full of dramatic events and a memorable comeback.
It will be a Herculean task to fill the boots of the legendary Lance. As the father of three now prepares to hang up his bicycle, it will also be the beginning of a new era in the history of the Tour, which dates back to 1903.
So who will succeed Armstrong on the Tour that has been dubbed ‘Tour de Lance’ since 1999? This is the question to which his closest rivals, Italian Ivan Basso and Germany’s Jan Ullrich (who were in second and third place respectively at this year’s Tour de France), and others will have to find an answer.
Au revoir, Lance, and in the words of the champ himself, ‘Vive le Tour, forever!’