Lance Armstrong career and post-career timeline

Lance Armstrong career and post-career timeline. Information from Reuters, the Associated Press and other news sources was used to compile this report.

Born: Sept. 18, 1971

1991
- Wins U.S. Amateur Championship.

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1992
- Finishes 14th in the individual road race at the Barcelona Olympics.
- Wins two races after turning pro.

1993
- Wins his first Tour de France stage.
- Wins U.S. and World Championships.

1994
- Finishes second in two prestigious one-day races in Europe, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Clasica de San Sebastian.

1995
-Tragedy strikes Armstrong's Team Motorola when Fabio Fabio Casertelli dies in a Tour de France crash. Armstrong wins a stage at the race and dedicates the victory to his fallen teammate.

1996
- After subpar performances at the Olympics and the Tour de France, Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer. The disease had also spread to his lungs and brain, and he is given a 50 percent chance of living. Armstrong has surgery and begins treatment. 

1997
- Armstrong is declared cancer-free and signs with the U.S Postal Service team. He did not compete in 1997 but resumed training and was at the Tour de France to support his teammates.
- Forms the Lance Armstrong Foundation to fight cancer, which was later renamed Livestrong.

1998
- Armstrong resumes racing; his biggest finish of the season was a fourth-place showing at the Vuelta a Espana.

1999
- Wins four stages at the Tour de France en route to claiming his first overall title at the race.

2000
- A serious training crash threatens to sideline Armstrong, but he rebounds and wins his second Tour de France title. It would be the second of a record seven straight victories at the world's most prestigious bike race.
- Wins the team time trial bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics

2001
- Another Tour de France victory for Armstrong, a year in which he also carried the Olympic torch during its journey to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Games.

2002
- Tour de France win No. 4.

2003
- Armstrong wins his fifth Tour de France title.

2004
- Armstrong captures his sixth Tour de France victory.

2005
- Armstrong wins his seventh Tour de France title, and then retires from the sport.
- French newspaper "L'Equipe" publishes a story that claims six of Armstrong's urine samples from the 1999 Tour tested positive for EPO when they were retested in 2004.

2006
- Armstrong runs the New York City Marathon.
- Armstrong is cleared of doping related to the 1999 test results reported by L'Equipe.
- Another French newspaper, "Le Monde," reports that ex-teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife said they heard Armstrong admit to hospital staff after his brain cancer surgery in 1996 that he had used EPO, human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing drugs.

2007
- Armstrong again runs the New York City Marathon.

2008
- Armstrong teams up with Alberto Contador and Astana for a comeback, vowing to race in the 2009 Tour de France.

2009
- Armstrong rides in the Tour de France and finishes third behind Contador and Andy Schleck. He then leaves Astana to form Team RadioShack, which he launched for 2010.

2010
- Armstrong participates in the Tour de France and finishes 23rd.
- Ex-teammate Floyd Landis admits to doping during his career and accuses Armstrong of doing the same. Among Landis' claims:
- Armstrong and U.S. Postal Team director Johan Bruyneel paid off the UCI to cover up a positive drug test during the 2002 Tour of Switzerland.
- Landis witnessed Armstrong receive blood transfusions and hand out testosterone to his teammates.
- Armstrong worked with cycling trainer Dr. Michele Ferrari after the Italian Cycling Federation banned the doctor from working with cyclists. The Associated Press reported Armstrong met with Ferrari, who has long been suspected of distributing doping products, on several occasions since they severed professional ties in 2004, including before the 2010 Tour de France.

2011
- Armstrong rides in the final race of his career, the Tour Down Under.
- In an interview with "60 Minutes," former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton admits to doping and says Armstrong participated in blood doping and took the blood-booster EPO during his career.
- Some of Hamilton's claims:
- Hamilton witnessed Armstrong take EPO during the 1999 Tour de France and during preparation for the 2000 and 2001 Tours.
- During his days on the U.S. Postal Team (1995-2001), Hamilton said riders were given white lunch bags containing EPO and other doping products.
- The team was built to support Armstrong at the Tour de France and he encouraged the riders to dope.
- The U.S. Postal Team was involved in doping before Armstrong joined in 1998.
- Armstrong failed a drug test during the 2001 Tour of Switzerland but made a deal with the UCI, cycling's international governing body, to make the test "go away."

2012
- On Feb. 3, federal prosecutors announced they closed the case against Armstrong. The near two-and-a-half-year probe resulted in no charges being filed.