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CNN Live At Daybreak

Lance Armstrong: The Comeback Kid

Aired July 31, 2001 - 08:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: If you're casting for the role of the comeback kid, you can't go wrong with cyclist Lance Armstrong. He was diagnosed with cancer back in 1996. And to say he fought back would be an understatement. Sunday, Armstrong made it a three-peat, winning his third consecutive Tour de France.

Armstrong's mother can't wait to say congratulations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA ARMSTRONG, MOTHER OF LANCE: First thing, of course, is to let him know how truly proud I am. He just had been through so much the whole month. And to go through 2000 miles on bike, I want to tell him how proud I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And yet he's a champion in a sport that barely shows up on the American sports radar. So what makes Lance Armstrong so fascinating?

Sal Ruibal is a writer for "USA Today." He's a cyclist, but we're going to get to that as well.

Good morning, Sal.

SAL RUIBAL, "USA TODAY": Good morning.

LIN: I have got to tease you about your cover story yesterday in "USA Today" here. Here's a nice picture of Lance Armstrong with the Texas and United States flag. And the headline reads: "Armstrong Completes his Tour de Force Show." Talk about an understatement.

You were there. What was it like?

RUIBAL: It was tremendous. It was one of those great, historical moments. The Champs-Elysees has long been a stage for great, historical moments. And here was Lance crossing the finish line, winning his third consecutive Tour de France. It was an amazing scene. And there was a lot of emotion and a lot of affection for him by the crowd.

LIN: Yes. You can imagine him just sitting at home thinking: against all odds, against all odds. And yet he pulled it out against all odds.

You know, I think all of us, in looking at his personal circumstances, would say to ourselves, we just have to be waiting for this guy to have a bad day. And yet he never does.

RUIBAL: Well, he did have a bay day in the ninth stage and fell 35 minutes behind and then proceeded day by day, in an incredible march through the mountains, to cut that lead back, take over the yellow jersey, and win going away. It was a stupendous and heroic effort by Lance.

LIN: And that's what really defines him in many people's mind, is just really the ultimate sports hero. And yet he himself does not define himself as the greatest ever. So why do we?

RUIBAL: I think because of his comeback over cancer. It's a classic American story of overcoming a huge obstacle. I think there's no bigger boogeyman in today's society than the specter of cancer. And he has overcome that and then been actually better than he was before.

And that sort of is assuring to us as human beings that we can take on a fight like that and still live better than we did before.

LIN: It is amazing. In fact, my co-anchor, Colleen, was sharing an article that she read in "Sports Illustrated" by Rick Reilly. And he writes: "When you are Lance Armstrong and you have survived 12 tumors on your lung, two on your brain, and a cancer-ravaged testicle the size of a lemon, the French Alps start to look like speed bumps."

I mean, is it psychological or was there something else about his cancer that gave him this seemingly magical force to get him through it?

RUIBAL: Well, I think it did show him that he can overcome anything, if he could do that, so that, you know, these little problems in life, like climbing up through the Alps against the best riders in the world, may seem trivial.

But from a physiological standpoint, he lost a lot of weight. His body changed. He was 20 pounds lighter coming out of cancer therapy. And that made him a more efficient rider. And he changed his style from being a power rider who pushed big gears to a rider who uses a high rotation on the pedals. It made him a lot more efficient. And he could beat the European riders, who tend to use the power method.

LIN: Well, cycling is really big in Europe, but it's not that big here in the United States. So do you think Lance Armstrong is going to do for cycling what Tiger Woods did for golf?

RUIBAL: No, I don't think so, because the problem with the United States is that we have lost our cycling culture. At the turn of the century, the United States was the major power in cycling. Now kids don't even ride their bikes to school. When I grew up, we rode our bikes to school; we rode around the neighborhoods. Now there's no sidewalks in the suburbs. The roads are dangerous. Parents don't want to put their kids out on the street with bikes. And the only way we'll really recover as a cycling power is to have cycling as a fun and sport activity at the same time.

LIN: You need that sort of infrastructure.

So how do you think Lance's experience on the Tour de France is going to shape American culture?

RUIBAL: Well, I think what it does is, it opens us up to the possibilities that there are other sports out there besides the traditional baseball, football, hockey, ones that are fascinating, are challenging, and have heroes just as powerful and just as strong as a national symbol as Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

LIN: You know, oddly enough, yesterday when everybody was talking about this story, it came up in little moments. It came up with people who have been struggling with their own issues, like, a friend of mine was saying: Well, you know what? Now I really feel like I can lose that extra 20 pounds and improve my health. Now I feel like I can do something that I've been putting off -- even something as minor as that.

RUIBAL: Yes. You know, Lance's philosophy is: Every day is a race.

And so he looks at it that every day is an opportunity to overcome something in your life, to make yourself better, to enjoy life, and to not get stuck on the past, to not be bogged down by our problems, but to really just enjoy, devour, consume and enjoy life.

And in that sense, it's been a gift for all of us.

LIN: Yes, and I'm sure a gift for you to see it firsthand.

Hey, I hear that you actually -- not only are you a cyclist, but you actually trained with Lance Armstrong's coach?

RUIBAL: Yes, I've been working with Chris Carmichael for about 18 months. It started out as an assignment with "USA Today" way back before the Olympics to follow Lance's training through the eyes of an average cyclist.

So I've been working with Chris through that time. And it's really made a difference. There is a science to it.

LIN: Lance says that he is going to compete yet for a fourth time. So maybe he will hear the wheels behind him.

All right, Sal, thanks for joining us this morning.

RUIBAL: OK. Thank you.

LIN: Sal Ruibal. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com