Armstrong wins 6th Tour De France

[chrismakk69]

How amazing is this guy? Congratulations Lance

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."

[bxbomb]

pretty sick accomplishment ...to bad cycling is as popular as soccer

big ups to Lance

[kfitz73]

Lance what do you like about the mountains??

Lance: "Well its where the pretenders step down and the contenders step up"

He is an absolute monster

[lolahotass]

What an accomplishment!!

Congrats Lance.. you are the master of the mountains!!!

[rockyabodyrock]

What an accomplishment. A heroic feat. You the man, Lance! Congratulations . And let's not forget the rest of his team, which has been a big part of his success. It's cool to see teamwork used in cycling of all things. An outsider would expect that to be a solo sport until you saw some of the footage of these guys in action. Awesome stuff.

Here's to Number 7 in '05!