Sports: Easy ride, win for Armstrong

The Texas flag Lance Armstrong was waving got caught in his bike chain, raising the uncertainty of a victory lap Sunday. He grinned sheepishly as he awaited help, then obliged the cheering crowd along the Champs-Elysees.

With the majestic Arc de Triomphe behind him, Armstrong listened to The Star-Spangled Banner and smiled with satisfaction as he savored an end to three weeks of grueling racing to win his third consecutive Tour title -- the only American to do so.

His leader's yellow jersey was lost in the main pack as he crossed the finish line, but the man from Austin, Texas, already had shown he's in a class of his own -- having survived life-threatening cancer to master the world's toughest cycling race.

Only a terrible accident could have kept him from the winner's stand, given the insurmountable lead he had built in the mountains a week earlier.

"It's the best feeling of the last three (wins)," Armstrong said in faltering French. "As always, I am happy to finally arrive, to finally finish the Tour. It's a special feeling."

His ride to victory -- with a lead of almost seven minutes -- had been in some ways the most impressive of all three wins. Because this time, the field that he crushed so definitively, including top rival Jan Ullrich, was in top form.

French fans, who favor their cycling heroes and find Armstrong somewhat distant, could not hide their admiration for Armstrong's achievement.

"He's untouchable, it's true," said 43-year-old Dominique Maquet, who came to Paris from the Ardennes region near Belgium to watch the finish under a scorching sun. "Some French people might be jealous, because he's so good. But he won because he's all powerful."

Armstrong both began and finished his race in the mountain stages in the Alps and Pyrenees, where he reached perfection.

His most memorable triumph came in the climb to L'Alpe d'Huez, where he bluffed Ullrich and others by grimacing in apparent pain for the TV cameras. With his fellow riders thinking he was in trouble, he caught Ullrich, took a long, hard look, then pulled ahead at stunning speed. He finished 1:59 ahead of the German and set the tone for the entire race.

After cementing his lead in the Pyrenees, gaining the coveted yellow jersey at the top of Pla d'Adet, he further tightened his grip in the flat stretches by winning the last individual time trial.

Ullrich, who was riding in his best form since he won the Tour in 1997, was left trailing by 6 minutes, 44 seconds, a deficit that he carried with him to the finish line.

Like Armstrong, American Greg LeMond has won the race three times, but with a two-year gap between his first and second titles.

The Tour record is five titles, but for now Armstrong says he isn't interested.

"I'm not chasing a record," he said in his final news conference on Saturday. "I never thought I would get to this point.

"It was a surprise for me even to make it back to the sport," he added, referring to his comeback from advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.

Jan Svorada won Sunday's stage, the 20th of a more than 2,100-mile ride through France and Belgium.

With Ullrich in second place overall and Joseba Beloki third, the finish was identical to last year's. It was only the second time in Tour history that the same riders have finished 1-2-3 in consecutive years.

"It was one of the funner victories I've had here," Armstrong said. "Definitely the strongest I've ever been, stronger than the previous two."

But there's more to come.

"I have a lot left," he said. "I love it. I love what I do. As long as the passion is there, I'll be around for years."

As for Armstrong winning the hearts of the French -- well, not yet.

"Arch-dominator," the daily Parisien newspaper called him recently. "Armstronginator," read the sports daily L'Equipe.

For his part, Armstrong has tried to warm to the crowds by speaking a mildly mangled form of French in TV interviews.

"This year I've decided to try what I can," he said. "I've decided to be more accessible to the people and the media."

This year, Armstrong received mostly favorable press. French TV commentators noted that Armstrong made some classy gestures during this year's race, including waiting for Ullrich when the German fell off his bike during a mountain stage.

The chief editor at L'Equipe, Jerome Bureau, said that the French "like champions who can crack. Armstrong shows no weakness."

Back to Sports

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times sports desk

College football

Ready or not, Bulls enter Division I-A

A $500,000 beating: priceless

Bucs

No Brooks as camp opens

QB Johnson plays role of a spectator at camp

Bucs training camp

Rays

Kennedy's luck still running cold

Vaughn may be next man purged

Newest Ray is thinking ahead

Etc.

Easy ride, win for Armstrong

Hall of Fame open to move

WNBA briefs

Baseball briefs

Daily fishing report

From the wire

From the state sports wire Jacksonville's Spicer placed on IR after leg surgery
FIU-Western Kentucky game postponed because of Jeanne
Brown anxious to face old team for first time
Dolphins' desperate defense readies for Roethlisberger
Former Sarasota lineman sheds tough-guy image with Michigan
Rothstein rejoins Heat as assistant
No. 16 Florida has history on its side against Kentucky
FSU and Clemson QBs both off to slow starts