Ride for a Record

Having beaten cancer in 1996, eventually returning to the international cycling tour and winning the Tour de France the last five years, Lance Armstrong on Saturday will begin to face down history.

His quest for what would be a record sixth Tour championship starts with a short time trial in Liege, Belgium. He made it clear during a news conference Thursday that his focus is there.

“There’s many, many things that could happen,” Armstrong said. “I could just flat-out lose the race to a better rider. So I prefer to face it one day at a time, beginning on Saturday.”

Four others -- Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain -- won the Tour five times. All tried for a sixth and came up short.

Armstrong has a doping controversy hanging over his head, he’s had a difficult year in his personal life, and, at 32, is said to be past his prime.

But even with those potential distractions and several competitors eager to end his reign, Armstrong remains the man to beat.

“I feel strong. I feel healthy,” he said. “I would even say that I feel stronger and healthier than last year.”

The race ends on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 25. Until then, here’s a brief primer on Armstrong’s greatest challenges, who and what might stop him, and why they probably won’t:

* Doping scandal: A new book quotes Emma O’Riley, a former Armstrong assistant, as saying she disposed of syringes for Armstrong and gave him makeup to conceal needle marks in his arms.

Armstrong has denied the allegations and is suing the publisher. “Extraordinary accusations must be followed with extraordinary proof, and Mr. Walsh and Mr. Ballester have worked four or five years and they have not come up with extraordinary proof,” Armstrong said, referring to the authors.

Last week, French police raided the Biarritz home of British world-champion cyclist David Millar and said that they found syringes and that Millar confessed to using doping products. He has been banned from the Tour de France.

These incidents have prompted cycling’s governing body to come up with new tests. For the first time, riders will have to give blood rather than urine for testing.

Why it won’t matter: Armstrong is far too mentally tough to let it distract him. He is already among the most scrutinized riders because of his success and has withstood doping allegations since he beat cancer and won the Tour de France for the first time. This is nothing new.

* History: Anquetil, winner in 1957 and 1961-64, quit after his fifth Tour, skipped a year and then came back to help a teammate in 1966. No longer needed after Stage 19, he dropped out of the race.

Merckx won in 1969-72 and again in 1974. In 1975, he crashed during Stage 17, broke his cheekbone and finished second. The only racer to try for a sixth twice, Merckx finished sixth in 1977.

Hinault won in 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1985. In 1986, he finished second to Greg LeMond. Indurain won five in succession from 1991-95, then finished 11th in 1996.

Why it won’t matter: Armstrong has demonstrated the ability to do things nobody has done and is highly motivated to win again. He had brain surgery and had a cancerous testicle removed, and then came back and succeeded in one of the toughest endurance events of all time.

* Age: Indurain was 31 when he won his fifth. Anquetil and Hinault were 30 and Merckx was 29. Only two riders older than Armstrong have won the Tour de France: Gino Bartali, 34, in 1948, and Joop Zoetemelk, 33, in 1980.

Why it won’t matter: Armstrong is a physical anomaly. His heart has been measured at one-third larger than an average man’s, and his lung capacity is among the greatest recorded. He is 32, but it’s doubtful that anybody can outlast him.

* Training difficulties: Armstrong and his wife, Kristin, divorced late last year after five years of marriage. Instead of training full time in Spain, he returned to the U.S. for a month so he could spend time with his children.

Why it won’t matter: Armstrong planned around the missed training days and has otherwise kept the same regimen he used the last five years.

* Tough competition: German Jan Ullrich, runner-up to Armstrong by 61 seconds last year, is his biggest threat. The 1997 Tour de France champion has never finished lower than second. Last year was the closest anyone has come to Armstrong, and Ullrich won the recent Tour de Suisse. American Tyler Hamilton is primed for a breakthrough. He crashed and broke his collarbone during Stage 1 last year but still won a later stage and finished fourth overall. Iban Mayo of Spain is a strong climber who won this year’s Dauphine Libere, in which Armstrong was fourth.

Why it won’t matter: Ullrich, who has struggled with his weight, reportedly gained a few pounds over the winter. He also lost a key member of his team, Alexandre Vinokourov, the third-place finisher last year, to injury. The two would have been a formidable tandem, but Armstrong now has the edge. Hamilton’s toughness is laudable, but his inexperience could hurt. His Swiss team, Phonak, has never raced in the Tour de France. Mayo’s climbing ability rivals Armstrong’s, but Armstrong is still the best in the world. Last year, Armstrong was injured and sick and still won. This year, he says he is 100% healthy.

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Associated Press contributed to this report.

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THE KEY STAGES

* Stage 4 (Wednesday): This is a 40-mile team trial. The entire team gets the time of the fifth man to cross the finish line. A poor performance by one of Armstrong’s opponents could cost him the race if it’s as close as it was last year. Armstrong’s team beat Ullrich’s by 43 seconds in this stage last year.

* Stage 10 (July 14): At 145 miles, it is the longest stage. It is also the first in the mountains, entering the Massif Central. None of the climbs is as severe as in later stages, but there are nine of them.

* Stage 13 (July 17): The riders enter the Pyrenees at the end of Stage 12, but it gets really difficult in this 132-mile stage. There are seven climbs overall, five of which are among the most severe of the race.

* Stage 16 (July 21): An individual time trial, this stage could have a strong influence on the outcome of the race. It ascends more than 3,700 feet in about 10 miles, a grade of 7.9%, up the Alpe d’Huez.

* Stage 17 (July 22): The last stage with grueling ascents is 129 miles and features five short but severe climbs.

* Stage 19 (July 24): It’s only important if no rider has distanced himself from the pack during the mountain stages. This 37-mile individual time trial is the last chance to make up ground, because the final stage is generally a ceremonial ride into Paris.

-- Peter Yoon