Lance Armstrong becomes a professional triathlete at 16, but he soon turns his attention to cycling

In 1993, the Texan wins stage eight of the Tour de France - his first victory on the Tour

Having won stage 18 in 1995, injury forces Armstrong to retire from the Tour a year later

He goes on to represent the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but is diagnosed with testicular cancer three months later

Armstrong makes a remarkable recovery and gets the all-clear in February 1997 before returning to racing in May 1998

He sets-up the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 to help those suffering from cancer and has since raised more than $250m

Three years after being diagnosed with cancer, Armstrong wins the 1999 Tour de France

A year after his first Tour victory, Armstrong wins bronze in the men's individual time trial at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney

Six more Tour de France victories follow, his seventh and last coming in 2005

His achievements are recognised by Madame Tussauds in New York who immortalise Armstrong in wax

Armstrong has dated a string of celebrities including singer Cheryl Crow (left), designer Tory Burch (top right) and actress Kate Hudson

Armstrong has continued his charity work and along with Mohammed Ali and Andre Agassi (left) he helped launch Athletes for Hope in 2007

The 37-year-old has kept himself fit by running in several marathons, the most recent being this year's Boston marathon

Armstrong finishes second at the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in August prompting him to come out of retirement for the 2009 Tour