PARIS -- Lance Armstrong rode into history Sunday, winning a
record sixth Tour de France and cementing his place as one of the
greatest athletes of all time.
Never in its 101-year history has the Tour had a winner like
Armstrong -- who just eight years ago was given less than a 50
percent chance of overcoming testicular cancer that spread to his
lungs and brain.
His streak of six straight crowns has helped reinvigorate the
greatest race in cycling, steering it into the 21st century. And
the Tour, as much a part of French summers as languid meals over
chilled rose, molded Armstrong into a sporting superstar.
No. 6: The achievement was almost too much for even Armstrong to
comprehend.
"It might take years. I don't know. It hasn't sunk in yet. But
six, standing on the top step on the podium on the Champs-Elysees
is really special," he said.
The ride into Paris and its famous tree-lined boulevard was a
lap of honor Armstrong savored with a glass of champagne in the
saddle. Even Jan Ullrich, his main adversary in previous years,
gulped down a glass offered by Armstrong's team manager through his
car window.
"The last laps there, I thought, 'Ah, I want to get this over
with,' " Armstrong said. "But then I thought to myself, 'You know,
you might want to do a few more laps, because you may not ever do
it again.' And you can't take it for granted."
President Bush called soon after his fellow Texan crossed the
finish line. "You're awesome," Bush told him.
With the Arc de Triomphe in the background, Armstrong put his
yellow bicycle cap over his heart during the raising of the
American flag and playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." It might
be his last time on the podium, at least for a while. Armstrong has
said he might skip the sport's showcase event next year.
Belgian rider Tom Boonen won the final sprint, with Armstrong
cruising safely behind with the trailing pack to claim his title.
Armstrong's winning margin over second-placed Andreas Kloden was 6
minutes, 19 seconds, with Italian Ivan Basso in third (6:40).
Ullrich was fourth (8:50), his worst finish.
Armstrong opened a new page for the Tour in 1999, just one year
after the race faced its worst doping scandal, ejecting the Festina
team after police caught one of its employees with a stash of
drugs.
Armstrong's victories and his inspiring comeback from cancer
have drawn new fans to a race that has been won five times by four
other riders. His professionalism, attention to detail, grueling
training regimens and tactics have raised the bar for other riders
hoping to win the three-week cycling marathon.
"He's changed the Tour forever," said fellow American rider
Bobby Julich. "He has set the blueprint for success, and he
deserves all the success that he is getting."
Eye-catching in the bright yellow race leader's jersey he works
so hard for, Armstrong donned a golden cycling helmet for a relaxed
roll past sun-baked fields of wheat and applauding spectators into
Paris from Montereau in the southeast.
He joked and chatted with teammates who wore special blue
jerseys with yellow stripes. They stretched in a line across the
road with their leader for motorcycle-riding photographers to
record the moment. The team was the muscle behind Armstrong's win,
leading him in grueling mountain climbs, shielding him from crashes
and wind, and keeping him stoked with drinks and food.
Last year, Armstrong beat Ullrich by just 61 seconds -- by far
his narrowest victory. He now admits he was not in great shape.
"I paid the price and learned a valuable lesson, and I won't
ever make that mistake again," he said.
This year, he roared back with renewed fire.
"It's as if I was with my five friends and we were 13 years old
and we all had new bikes and we said, 'OK, we're going to race from
here to there,"' he said. "You want to beat your friends more
than anything. You're sprinting and you're attacking. It was like
that for me. A simple pleasure."
With five solo stage wins and a team time-trial victory with his
U.S. Postal Service squad, this was Armstrong's best Tour. But it
was also one in which he was forced to defend himself against
claims he might be taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Repeatedly pointing out he has never failed a test, Armstrong
attributes his success to hard training and says the accusations
only fuel his motivation.
Last week, he chased down Filippo Simeoni, an Italian rider who
has testified about drug use within cycling, when he tried to surge
ahead of the pack to win a stage. Armstrong's team also chased down
Simeoni several times when he rode at the front Sunday.
Before the Tour, Armstrong sued authors of a book who implied,
without offering proof, that he used drugs.
"They want to create pressure that cracks you," Armstrong
said. "So, internally I say, 'OK, I will never crack because of
that. This will not crack me.' "
Armstrong built his lead from Day 1, placing second in the
third-fastest debut time trial in Tour history. That performance
silenced doubts that Armstrong, at 32, was past his prime.
"He's been the strongest man for the last six years," Kloden
said. "It's unbelievable."
Even more so than in other Tours that he dominated, Armstrong
finished off rivals in the mountains -- with three victories in the
Alps, including a time trial on the legendary climb to L'Alpe
d'Huez, and another in the Pyrenees. He also took the final time
trial on Saturday, even though he his overall lead was so big he
didn't need the win.
"We never had a sense of crisis, only the stress of the rain
and the crashes in the first week," Armstrong said. "I was
surprised that some of the rivals were not better. Some of them
just completely disappeared."
Ullrich, the 1997 champion and a five-time runner-up, never
recovered from seeing Armstrong zoom into the distance for two
straight days in the Pyrenees.
The only rider to stay with Armstrong there was Basso, a
26-year-old with the makings of a future winner. He came out of the
Alps, where Armstrong for the first time in his career won three
consecutive stages, in second place overall.
But Kloden, the German champion and Ullrich's teammate, outdid
the soft-spoken Basso in the final time trial, placing third behind
Armstrong and Ullrich. That ride propelled Kloden, who did not
complete last year's Tour, into second spot on the podium, pushing
Basso back to third.
Armstrong still hasn't decided whether he will back next year to
compete in the race he loves above all others, for which he trains
relentlessly, leaving his three children in Texas, with former wife
Kristin, while he pounds the roads in Europe.
Seven victories would be like owning seven sports cars, nice but
not necessary. Armstrong says he's interested in trying other races
-- the Tour of Italy, Classics, and beating the one-hour cycling
world record held by Britain's Chris Boardman.
After more than 1,900 miles of racing, riders mostly took it
easy on the 101-mile final stage, until they reached the
crowd-lined Champs-Elysees. Some took souvenir photos of themselves
as they rode, and Armstrong even stopped by the side of the road
momentarily to adjust his saddle.
He also chatted to Belgian rider Axel Merckx, whose father,
Eddy, is one of the five-time champions Armstrong passed. The
others are Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil, and
Spaniard Miguel Indurain.
Victory has brought Armstrong fame, wealth and softened some of
the brashness he displayed as a young rider. He's learned
rudimentary French and says his love of the Tour won't end with
retirement -- when he plans to watch the race on TV.
"I love the Tour de France," he said. "It's my buddy."