Lance Armstrong (born Lance Eward Gunderson on 18 September 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, from 1999 to 2005. In doing so, he beat the previous records of five wins by Miguel Indurain (consecutive) and Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil. Previous to this achievement, he also survived testicular cancer, a germ cell tumor that metastasized to his brain and lungs in 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy.