Professional cyclists such at Tom Boonen and Chad Gerlach have also had widely publicized battles with drugs and addiction, and he said he sees parallels. Gerlach, a former pro with a similar career to Clinger's, was featured on the television show "Intervention" last year and has since returned to the peloton, finishing just behind Armstrong at the Nevada City Classic a week ago. Boonen, a recent world champion, three-time winner of Paris-Roubaix and one of the biggest stars in the sport, has twice tested positive for cocaine use in the past couple of years and may not get to race in the Tour de France next month as a result.

For Clinger, there's no doubt that drugs nearly ruined his career.

"When I don't regret it and dwell on it, I feel more sane," Clinger said. "It wracks my brain if I put too much attention on my mistakes."

"Free agency," he said of his LDS beliefs. "That's one of the things we believe in. We believe we are free to make choices and I had to test the waters and it happened — weird stuff happened."

Behind the mask

One failed marriage already in the past, Clinger was 27 years old and racing and training in Argentina in 2005, where his eventual second wife, Natalia, lived. He had three tattoos already on his legs and chest but nothing terribly dramatic.

After studying Polynesian and Maori culture and becoming enamored with the symbolism, he got an outline of the mask that began at his chin and swept over his cheeks, nose and forehead and across the scalp, which, when he shaved his head, gave him a fearsome look.

After marrying Natalia, he said he continued his drug use, continued his cycling and had the typical disagreements with his wife.

The time spent in Argentina was painful and Clinger said he does not like discussing the relationship or digging through those memories.

In his words, she "was toying with me."

Natalia eventually left after just four months of marriage and, after taking cocaine for the first time, he made a decision few can understand.

"I didn't handle it well," he said of the relationship's struggle. "Two days later I started getting the tattoo."

While tattoos are not unheard of in the peloton, a full facial mask is extreme and the reaction was strong.

"I thought it was just a rumor," Salt Lake City pro cyclist Burke Swindlehurst said. "I heard about him with a face full of tattoos, I didn't really want to believe it. Then when I saw him, I was like 'wow.' "

Clinger said looking in the mirror was never difficult. The mask, he has said, is a constant reminder to stay strong. He also figured his sponsors would enjoy the attention his face would bring to the logos and names on his jersey.