Summary of Juliet Macur's Cycle of Lies

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822505995

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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