Lance Armstrong crashed on stage 5 in Visalia then dropped out of the race amidst doping allegations (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
In 2009, Lance Armstrong made a controversial return to the peloton, beginning the year at the Tour Down Under but importantly being heartily welcomed by thousands of still-loyal supporters in California, many of whom were inspired by his cancer-awareness campaigns. The courses were plastered with 'Livestrong' paraphernalia and lined by yellow wrist-banded devotees.
Armstrong was less admired by some in the media, including Irishman Paul Kimmage who bravely stood up in the pre-race press conference and challenged whether "non-repentant" dopers (Armstrong tacitly included) should be welcomed back.
The American bristled, shooting back with "When I decided to come back, for what I think is a very noble reason, you said, 'The cancer has been in remission for four years, our cancer has now returned' – meaning me, that I am the cancer!
"So it goes without saying, no we are not going to sit down for an interview. You are not worth the chair you are sitting on with a statement like that, with a disease that touches everyone around the world."
Kimmage got the last word: "You don't have a patent on cancer. I'm interested in the cancer of doping in cycling. That has been my life's work! I raced as a professional and I exposed it. Then you come along and the problem disappears."
Those words would continue to ring during what followed in 2010.
The 2010 edition started in bright sunshine in Nevada City with one fewer stage on tap for the peloton, but aside from the minor truncation the atmosphere was rosy: Mark Cavendish won a stage, Dave Zabriskie took the race lead, Armstrong's fans came out in droves to line the roadsides. It was bliss for the organisers until...
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Floyd Landis confessed to doping and implicated Armstrong and his team manager Johan Bruyneel in what is now history - what USADA would later call "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."
Videographers and journalists swarmed Armstrong at the start of stage 5 in Visalia to hear his denial of the allegations: "we have nothing to say and nothing to hide" before the peloton took off en route to Bakersfield.
On a flat, straight stretch of highway, Armstrong crashed out of the race four miles into the stage and, after receiving assistance from the medics dropped out of the race. It was only the beginning of his downfall.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
