Step 1 : Introduction to the question "3. 1999 to 2005 was the best time to be an American cyclist in the Tour de France. What legendary cycling figure won the world's most prestigious cycling event in seven consecutive years?"
...1. Miguel Indurain 2. Maurice Garin 3. Lance Armstrong 4. Eddy Merckx Maurice Garin won the inaugural Tour de France in 1903. Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault each won the event five times. Indurain was the first to win in five consecutive years (1991-1995), only to have his record eclipsed by Lance Armstrong, whose achievement was made even more remarkable by his medical history. In 1996 Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His original prognosis was poor - he was not expected to survive the multiple surgeries and extensive chemotherapy treatments that were planned, let alone return to elite international cycling competition in the spectacular fashion displayed in his dominance of the Tour within a few years.
