Date: 2003-09-03
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 350 congratulates Lance Armstrong for winning the 2003 Tour de France. a race many consider the most grueling sporting event in the world. Mr. Speaker. on July 27 Lance Armstrong won the incredible 23day bicycle race through French mountains. countryside and cities to become the fifth cyclist in the 100year history of the race to earn five Tour de France victories. Even more impressively. Lance won the race for the fifth consecutive year. becoming only the second person ever to do so. Since this House recessed for the summer the same weekend as Lances victory. I am very proud that on its first day back this distinguished body is recognizing the inspirational Lance Armstrong and his unbelievable courage. grit. and determination. Lance Armstrong. one of the giants of American athletes over the last decade. was born to a 53". 105pound 17yearold mother in the suburbs of Dallas in September 1971. Growing up. while other classmates were playing football or partying. Lance spent much of his free time running. riding his bicycle. swimming and exercising. At the age of 13. Lance began to enter triathalons all over the U.S. where he biked. ran and swam with the Nations best. As a high school senior. Armstrong qualified to train with the U.S. Olympic team. but ultimately he focused solely on cycling. As a cyclist he won the U.S. National Amateur Championship in 1991. Over the next 5. years. Lance won 12 bike races. including the World Championships in 1993. By 1996 Lance Armstrong was a toprated cyclist in the world. but it was during 1996 after a victory at the Tour DuPont in North Carolina that he began to feel more fatigue and discomfort than usual. even after an exhausting race. Later that year he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Some of Lances doctors at the time gave him only a 40 percent chance of surviving. He would say later he thinks that they were only being nice when they said that. Lance soon underwent three major operations and chemotherapy to fight off the disease that had spread to his abdomen. his lungs and his brain. The treatments were successful. and within a year of being diagnosed with cancer. he was pronounced cancer free. As a survivor. Lance has becbme one of the worlds most influential cancer research advocates. Lance founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to promote cancer research and awareness. He also wrote the best selling book. "Its Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life." that tells the full story of how his early successes were interrupted by cancer. how he survived cancer. and how he eventually returned to racing and won his first Tour de France in 1999. This year. having never won the race in his previous five victories by less than 6 minutes. Lance made his fans sweat a little bit. He ultimately won the 2.125 mile race by 61 seconds after lie endured rain. fog. heat. illness. and even protesters. not to mention the indescribably punishing course. President Bush called to congratulate him on the night of his fifth straight triumph. In his book. Lance describes in gutwrenching detail the miserable initial symptoms of testicular cancer. He explained the anguish of how it felt to learn he acquired the deadly disease in 1996 at a point when his racing career was literally just starting to take off. Perhaps the following excerpt that describes his lifes spirit is the more enduring words of his book. He said. "I want to die at 100 years old with an American flag on my back and the star of Texas on my helmet. after screaming down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 75 miles per hour. I want to cross one last finish line as my wife and my 10 children applaud. and then I want to lie down in a field of those famous French sunflowers and gracefully expire: the perfect contradiction to my once anticipated poignant early demise." Mr. Speaker. Lance Armstrong is an incredible role model to all citizens for his relentless work ethic. unmatched physical fitness that has helped him become perhaps the greatest cyclist of all time. It is lemarkable that he achieved his great accomplishments in the cycling world after he overcame cancer. proving to all that a person can not only defeat cancer. but can thrive after beating it. Mr. Speaker. Lance turns 32 years old this month. more than 7 years after he miraculously overcame the cancer that experts said he had less than a 50 percent chance of surviving. Almost as remarkably. he has assured all his fans that he is determined to pursue a sixth straight Tour de France victory next summer. I. for one. cannot wait to cheer him on. For all of these reasons. I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Resolution 350 that commemorates Lance Armstrongs fifth Tour de France victory. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.