Armstrong Reaches the Peak

The applause was genuine, warm and honest. Fans with American flags were hugged by Frenchmen, or clapped on the back or even kissed on the cheeks.

As Lance Armstrong rode his bike into Paris Sunday afternoon on a perfect warm and sunny day, with the Arc de Triomphe as the background and a glass of champagne as a prop, history was made.

Armstrong, a 32-year-old from Austin, Texas, became the first six-time winner in the 101-year history of the race, surpassing five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain. Less than nine years ago Armstrong had been given less than a 50% chance of surviving his testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs.

“It might take years,” Armstrong said after finishing Sunday’s 20th stage safely in 114th place. “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.”

Armstrong finished the 2,107-mile race in 83 hours 36 minutes 2 seconds, averaging 25 mph. Finishing second was 29-year-old Andreas Kloden of T-Mobile, 6:19 behind Armstrong. Italy’s Ivan Basso, 26, of CSC was third, 6:40 behind.

At one point during Sunday’s 101-mile stage from Montereau to Paris, Armstrong held up six fingers. His U.S. Postal Service teammates had their cycling suits trimmed in yellow instead of red -- in honor of Armstrong’s owning the yellow jersey that belongs to the leader -- again. Even Armstrong’s helmet and bike were brightened Sunday with special gold carbon coloring.

On Saturday, Armstrong had reflected on his favorite moments of Tour riding over the last six years.

In 1999, his first Tour win, it was “winning the prologue and my first yellow jersey,” he said.

In 2000, Armstrong counted the Hautacam mountain stage in the Pyrenees. “That was the year everybody said I couldn’t do it,” Armstrong said. People had considered Armstrong’s win in 1999 a fluke. When the Hautacam stage began, Armstrong was in 16th place. When it finished, he was first.

A year later Armstrong had his most special moment. “I remember L’Alpe d’Huez,” he said. So does anybody who watched. After playing possum for much of the stage and acting as if he were laboring and even having his team director Johan Bruyneel tell French television he wasn’t sure what was wrong with his lead rider, Armstrong took off at the base of the famous mountain of 21 switchbacks, turned over his shoulder to stare at Jan Ullrich, his main competition, then left Ullrich stunned and well behind.

While saying there were “no highlights” in his 2002 win, Armstrong easily picked the foggy climb up Luz-Ardiden in 2003 as the bright moment of his most difficult Tour. After struggling with dehydration and injuries for much of the first two weeks, Armstrong had begun his breakaway move up the mountain when his handlebars caught on the strap of a fan’s bag and threw him to the ground. While the peloton waited, Armstrong got back up and still won the stage. And in a prediction easily made, Armstrong figured that Sunday would be his best moment in 2004. “Wearing the yellow jersey and climbing the top step and making history will be the moment I carry forever,” he said.

While the competition for the yellow jersey had been emphatically settled last Wednesday when Armstrong won the monstrous time trial climb up L’Alpe d’Huez, there was some serious racing Sunday. Belgian Tom Boonen of Quick Step won the stage, his second this year, and Australia’s Robbie McEwen of Lotto Domo held on to the green jersey, won by the racer who accrues the most sprint points during the three-week race.

McEwen, who earned his second career green jersey, had led Norway’s Thor Hushovd of Credit Agricole by 11 points. But Hushovd made a crucial mistake in the final right turn, losing his racing line in the tight curve and falling to 16th place, guaranteeing McEwen the title.

Even Armstrong admitted he did not get the challenges he was expecting this year. Ullrich, who had won the race in 1997 and never finished lower than second, never mounted a real attack on Armstrong and finished fourth.

Spaniard Iban Mayo, who had taken two minutes out of Armstrong on a mountain climb during the Dauphine Libere, a tune-up, tried to quit in the Pyrenees and withdrew last Tuesday. Tyler Hamilton, who had finished fourth a year ago even though he rode for three weeks with a broken collarbone, also didn’t make it to the finish after suffering a back injury during a first-week crash.

Only Basso, who won the first Pyrenees stage and finished just behind Armstrong in the second, and Ullrich’s teammate Kloden performed better than expected.

“I was surprised that some of the rivals were not better,” Armstrong said. “Some of them just completely disappeared.”

Armstrong also gave credit to his U.S. Postal Service teammates.

“We were always in control of the race,” Armstrong said. “Anytime the race was dangerous -- on the cobblestones, in the team time trial, during the first, second and third week of the race.”

Discovery Channel takes over as sponsor of the team from the U.S. Postal Service next year and Armstrong has refused to say whether he will return to the Tour for a go at a seventh title. “I need to go home and see my family,” he said.

Armstrong does have an explanation for his success.

“I believe that the man who works hardest deserves to win,” Armstrong said. “When it’s pouring rain and you go ride for six hours with no one on the side of the road cheering you or booing you, that’s why you get nights like tonight.

“I know it’s a mix of talent and hard work, man. What are you doing on Christmas Day? Riding. What about New Year’s Day, are you riding? Absolutely. Six weeks before the Tour are you 10 kilos overweight? No way. It’s total and complete commitment.”

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JOINING IN

How Lance Armstrong’s six consecutive Tour de France victories match up with some others who have won six consecutive championships or titles in various sports:

*--* ATHLETE SPORT CATEGORY NO. Babe Ruth-x Baseball AL home runs 6 Walter Johnson Baseball AL strikeouts 8 Wilt Chamberlain NBA Scoring 7 Michael Jordan NBA Scoring 7 John Stockton NBA Assists 9 Wayne Gretzky-x NHL Scoring 8 Phil Esposito NHL Goals 6 Ingemar Stenmark Skiing Men’s slalom 7 Margaret Smith Tennis Australian Open 7 Martina Navratilova Tennis Wimbledon 6 x-shared a title

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TOUR DE FRANCE | LANCE ARMSTRONG’S RECORD VICTORY

THE JOY OF SIX

1999

Three years after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and given a 50% chance to live, Lance Armstrong, above, wins his first Tour de France, winning four stages and finishing 7 minutes 37 seconds ahead of second-place Alex Zuelle of Switzerland. The next highest American is Tyler Hamilton, who finishes 13th.

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2000

What seemed like a medical and sports miracle the previous year takes on all the makings of a dynasty as Armstrong, above holding his son Luke after the final stage, wins the Tour de France by 6 minutes 2 seconds over Jan Ullrich and becomes only the 11th cyclist to take back-to-back Tours in the last half a century.

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2001

Armstrong shakes off accusations of doping printed by a British newspaper and becomes only the fifth rider to win the Tour three years in a row. He completes the three-week event in 86 hours 17 minutes 28 seconds, beating Jan Ullrich, shown above trailing Armstrong, by 6 minutes 44 seconds.

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2002

The 30-year-old Armstrong wins in 82 hours 5 minutes 12 seconds, which is 7 minutes 17 seconds ahead of runner-up Joseba Beloki of Spain. Armstrong’s average speed, 24.8 mph, is the fourth-fastest in history. The only other rider from the United States in the top 10 is Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa.

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2003

Shaking off a crash in the 15th stage, Armstrong wins in 1 minute 1 second over Jan Ullrich, Armstrong’s smallest margin of victory. Alexandre Vinokourov finishes third to become the first man from Kazakhstan to finish in the top three. American Tyler Hamilton, broken collarbone and all, finishes fourth.

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2004

With girlfriend Sheryl Crow, right, in attendance, Armstrong wins the Tour de France for a record sixth consecutive time, finishing 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of Andreas Kloden. Armstrong, again facing allegations of illegal doping, wins five individual stages, the most he has won at any one Tour.