PARIS -- For a brief time Sunday, the Champs-Elysees just about could have been Main Street in Anytown, U.S.A.

American flags draped on steel barriers lining the route and boisterous cheers in English greeted Lance Armstrong as he completed his fourth consecutive victory in the Tour de France.

One fan hung an inflatable raft on a fence with ''#5'' and ''2003'' written, predicting a record-tying fifth triumph next year.

"It's the fourth win of many,'' said Coleman Tucker, an attorney from Houston who extended his vacation in France to see the Texan cyclist win. "He's got three after this, at least.''

Perhaps.

What's certain is that Armstrong had a big group of American fans rooting him home Sunday.

They waved Lone Star Texas state flags, sported Texas T-shirts, and hooted with enthusiasm as a giant TV screen showed the racers approaching the city.

And, of course, there were chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!''

Armstrong has become a special inspiration to some because of his struggle with testicular cancer, which spread to his brain and nearly killed him six years ago. His Lance Armstrong Foundation raises money for cancer survivors.

"Lance is doing so much for the cancer community, so we said we have to do something for him,'' said a member of the foundation, Jerry Kelly of Birmingham, Ala.

He and his wife have followed the race around France in a rental car.

Kelly, who survived testicular cancer, showed his support by waving a sign that said ''4 and counting.'' He watched Armstrong win the race last year and plans to be back next year.

"As long as he's riding, we'll be here,'' Kelly said.

Many of the Americans in the crowd dismissed as jealousy the accusations by some French spectators that Armstrong uses performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has never failed a drug test and denies the allegations.

Sterling Sawyer, a native of Killeen, Texas, who lives in the Netherlands, made a special trip to see the end of the race. He said he understood some of the French resistance to Armstrong's stunning success.

"They're like, 'Hey, you dominate every other sport -- why do you have to dominate this sport?''' he said.