Miracle Man

Wins The Tour De France - Again!

(CBS)  Finally, a new team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service took a chance. After a few fits and starts, Armstrong began to train toward the Tour de France, which involves 2,300 miles during 23 days and is one of the most punishing sporting events in the world. Few thought he could be a contender.

"For me, to focus everything on the Tour de France was a risk because I had never proved myself there," says Armstrong.

Why did he do it?

"Because I didn't have anything else to lose. That was the beautiful thing," says Armstrong. "Nobody expected me to win the races I won before. Nobody expected me to win the Tour de France. Nobody expected me to do anything."

Armstrong trained as he had never before. Ironically, the cancer had changed his body in ways that weren't all bad. He was 15 pounds lighter, which makes a big difference when riding uphill. In the first stage of the 1999 Tour, he beat his rivals in a race against the clock.

Ten days later, Armstrong was still leading the race. The next stage took riders into the mountains to the alpine village of Sestriere. Armstrong's rivals assumed he would crack.

"My climbing was a question," says Armstrong. "You know, I could win the time trial the day before, but can he climb?"

Five hours later, Armstrong was still climbing toward Sestriere. But two racers had broken away from the pack. They figured they had dropped Armstrong, perhaps for good. They were wrong.

Armstrong attacked -- uphill, and kept going. No one caught him. After six hours of riding and 133 miles in the Alps, Armstrong was already an icon.

As he pulled into Sestriere, he had a message for the team owner: "I said, 'Tom, do you like apples?' He says, 'Sure.' I said, 'Well, how do you like these apples?'"

But the Tour de France wasn't over. There were still 10 days to go. But barring a disaster, it was over. It was his.

"Was there any moment during the Tour de France when you said to yourself, 'I don't believe this? I don't believe what I'm doing? I don't believe what's happening?'" asks Simon.

"I still say that," says Armstrong, laughing.

The French press was convinced that Armstrong had been doped and that the cancer had been faked. But as Armstrong mounted the champion's podium on the Champs d'Elysees, he knew his victory meant something to people who had never cared about the Tour de France.

"I knew that there were people just diagnosed, or family members or people diagnosed, or survivors or people being treated," says Armstrong. "They were going to see that and say, 'That guy's one of us.' And they were going to get hope from that."

Armstrong has used his fame to spread his message of hope. He says it's the obligation of the cured. "Some people have the illness, survive the illness and want to move on, never want to talk about it, never want to touch it," says Armstrong. "Other people, they want to represent cancer survivorship. And they want to tell their story. They want to help other people."

Every year, Armstrong holds a cycling benefit in Austin. Thousands of riders, many of them new riders, come to raise money for the fight against cancer.

Armstrong has set up a cancer foundation in his name that has resulted in additional pledges of over $80 million. Armstrong has also launched a cancer awareness campaign called the Cycle of Hope.

He also has a best-selling book, "It's Not About The Bike."

"He has a much bigger purpose in life," says Carmichael. "It's about letting people realize that anything's possible. You know, he came back from the grave."

But every so often, Armstrong is reminded of that journey. He is screened for cancer. Doctors say there is only a one percent chance that the cancer will return.

Is it more important for him to be known as the Tour de France champion, or as a cancer survivor?

"I prefer to be known as a cancer survivor," says Armstrong. "It's my proudest achievement."