A new BBC Two documentary is set to delve into the life and career of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
MORE: Why did Caprice split from pro skater Hamish during Dancing on Ice?
Based around extensive interviews and conversations with Lance, the two-part film tells the story of the cyclist's rise out of Texas as a young superstar cyclist, his battle with testicular cancer, and emergence as a global icon before his downfall following one of the largest doping scandals in history.
Want to get a head start before watching? Here's all the details you need on the disgraced former professional cyclist from his career to his cancer battle and ultimate downfall...
WATCH: Get a sneak peek at the top films coming to Netflix this year
Lance Armstrong: career
Lance began competitive cycling when he was 13 years old. In just a few years he became a pro triathlete and at 18, he was a national sprint-course champion.
The Texas native quickly became an international cycling superstar following his first championship win in 1990 at the age of 19 as he went on to win the Tour de France seven times in a row between 1999 and 2005. Over the span of his career, he took part in the Olympic Games three times and won his first and only Bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
© Photo: Getty ImagesLance became a seven-time Tour de France winner in 2005
Lance Armstrong: cancer battle
In 1996 Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread throughout his body. Originally Lance was given a 65 to 85 per cent chance of survival but when doctors found the tumour had moved to his brain, his odds of survival dropped to 50-50, and then to 40 per cent.
Fortunately, subsequent surgery to remove his brain tumours was declared successful, and after more rounds of chemotherapy, Armstrong was declared cancer-free in February 1997.
MORE: Gogglebox star reveals hardest thing about filming show
MORE: Friends star Matthew Perry makes major change ahead of wedding
MORE: Ricky Gervais reveals 5lbs weight gain in hilarious shirtless photo
Lance Armstrong: doping scandal
While Lance officially retired from competitive cycling in 2005, he made a brief comeback four years later to compete in the 2009 and 2010 Tour de France. It was during this time that allegations of doping came to light, although many had been suspicious of the seven-time Tour de France winner for years.
A former team-mate of Lance's named Floyd Landis publicly admitted that he had been involved in doping and revealed that his Lance, as well as many other top riders on his team, took performance-enhancing drugs as well.
While the cycling pro initially denied the accusations, in 2013 he sat down with Oprah Winfrey and finally confessed to taking an array of performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions to excel in the highly competitive world of professional cycling.
© Photo: Getty ImagesLance opened up about his history of doping to Oprah in 2013
In Lance, the disgraced pro athlete revealed that he first took performance-enhancing drugs in 1992 when he was just 21.
In 2012 he was stripped of all of his Tour de France wins and Olympic medals and subsequently banned from professional cycling following an investigation carried out by the US Anti-Doping Agency which revealed the extent of his cheating.
Where is Lance Armstrong now?
Today Lance continues to cycle - but not competitively. He regularly shares cycling updates with his 370k Instagram followers and takes part in non-competitive races across the globe. The father-of-five owns two businesses in Austin, Texas - a coffee shop and a bike shop which sit next door to each other in downtown Austin, Texas.
He also runs a media business called WEDU which describes itself as "a community of endurance athletes united around the belief that the true path forward is forged by breakthroughs of body and mind." Through this, Lance organises cycling events in Texas and Aspen, and also hosts two podcasts - The Move, a cycling podcast, and The Forward, which sees the former athlete interview high-profile figures. Recent guests include Matthew McConaughey and Charles Barkley.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
