Summary of Juliet Macur's Cycle of Lies

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 Lance Armstrong’s mother, Linda, has made a career off telling the story of how she raised the greatest cyclist the world has ever seen. She has said that she was the only constant presence in his life.
#2 Linda’s mythmaking did not sit well with the rest of Lance’s family. They had their own version of his childhood to tell. For example, they called Sonny Lance’s father, and he was a handsome, blue-eyed rebel with a mischievous grin. He had a bad-boy charm that caused him to whisper to Linda, Make love, not war. They were married in a Baptist church in 1971.
#3 Linda’s marriage to Sonny Gunderson was short-lived. She claimed in her book that he had been so rough with her that her neck and arms were bruised. Years later, the ex-husband admitted that he had slapped her just once.
#4 For years, the Armstrong family had no contact with the Gundersons. The Gundersons had no idea that the Armstrongs were living in Richardson, a northern suburb of Dallas, and had no money to hire a lawyer or investigator to find them.

Sujets

• Sport
• Autour du sport
• Histoire du sport
• Sports
• Recreation
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 11 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822505995
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Juliet Macur's Cycle of Lies
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Lance Armstrong’s mother, Linda, has made a career off telling the story of how she raised the greatest cyclist the world has ever seen. She has said that she was the only constant presence in his life.

#2

Linda’s mythmaking did not sit well with the rest of Lance’s family. They had their own version of his childhood to tell. For example, they called Sonny Lance’s father, and he was a handsome, blue-eyed rebel with a mischievous grin. He had a bad-boy charm that caused him to whisper to Linda, Make love, not war. They were married in a Baptist church in 1971.

#3

Linda’s marriage to Sonny Gunderson was short-lived. She claimed in her book that he had been so rough with her that her neck and arms were bruised. Years later, the ex-husband admitted that he had slapped her just once.

#4

For years, the Armstrong family had no contact with the Gundersons. The Gundersons had no idea that the Armstrongs were living in Richardson, a northern suburb of Dallas, and had no money to hire a lawyer or investigator to find them.

#5

The last name of Terry Armstrong is still present in the world, as she has erased him completely from her life. She has never used his name in her career as a motivational speaker, and she has never mentioned him in her autobiography.

#6

Armstrong was a disciplinarian by default. When he disobeyed or mouthed off, his parents would fight about it, which led to him becoming an angry, aggressive child. He was always fighting something or someone.

#7

When he was 14, Lance found out about his father’s secret life. He had a replacement in professional triathlete Rick Crawford, who helped him launch his triathlon career. Armstrong quickly became a star.

#8

Armstrong’s father was a villain, and every girl he dated looked like his mother. Crawford, his coach, was a bitter, crazy man who had been fired for allegedly doping an athlete.

#9

As Armstrong’s career as a triathlete progressed, so did his reputation. He became known as a brawler with a touch of paranoia, and he would often get into fights at school.

#10

Armstrong’s relationships with father figures always ended badly. His mother would argue that he should graduate, but school officials wouldn’t budge.

#11

Armstrong’s mother wrote a check for his tuition at Bending Oaks, a nontraditional private school in Dallas. Armstrong would be able to graduate on time if his tuition was paid. His father, Terry, would write the check.

#12

Thomas Neal was an independently wealthy real estate investor and massage therapist who had fled Montgomery, Alabama, after growing up amid the race riots of the 1960s. He had moved to Austin, Texas, and worked with the athletes at the University of Texas.

#13

Armstrong was a very brash and ill-mannered teenager, but he had a broken family life, and he was searching for a new one. He had a lot of insecurities and anger, but he was still very young.

#14

Armstrong’s first meeting with police was in San Marcos, Texas, when he was driving erratically. He was arrested, and his driver’s license was suspended. He sent postcards from training trips and races, mentioning that the worlds were a week away.

#15

In the early 1990s, American cycling had a single star, Greg LeMond, who in 1986 became the first American to win the Tour de France. But Armstrong’s victories came primarily in Europe, out of sight of America’s sports fans.

#16

The practice of throwing races had existed for decades, and was as much a part of the sport as doping. In the 1980s, it was common and accepted in Europe to sell victories. Armstrong had bribed several riders to ensure his victory in the final race of the million-dollar race series.

#17

In 1993, Armstrong’s star rose sharply. He won his first stage of the Tour de France, and became the second youngest world road racing champion ever. With Motorola planning to leave cycling, Armstrong’s brilliant season gave his team reason to believe it would gain a new sponsor.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The history of cycling is intertwined with the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Riders have always found ways to make the race easier, whether it was by using steroids or injectable vitamins like B12, B complex, or folic acid.

#2

The Tour de France and drugs went hand in hand, despite a growing public concern. In 1963, a group of cyclists, doctors, lawyers, journalists, and sports officials came together to push for drug testing.

#3

The first scandal involving EPO in cycling was in 1987, when five Dutch riders died of heart problems. In 1988, Connie Meijer, a Dutch rider, passed out and died while competing in a criterium race. Doctors and blood specialists said that EPO abuse might have played a role in the deaths of at least eighteen professional European cyclists in the years from 1988 to 1992.

#4

The practice of doping was not explicitly prohibited by the International Olympic Committee, but its rules stated that athletes could not take any medication or undergo any procedures that would unfairly affect the competition.

#5

The soigneur was the main person responsible for giving the riders the drugs they needed to compete.