Four-titude
Nothing can stop Lance Armstrong from winning. Not even, time has told and retold, a life-threatening struggle with cancer. Armstrong is a champion, and he is getting used to this, cruising, once again, toward the tree-lined Champs-Elysées with a bright yellow jersey on his back and a glass of champagne in his hand
The Texan with the iron legs to match his will handily won his fourth straight Tour de France last Sunday to the cheers of thousands of fans, many waving US flags, who lined the famous boulevard. Crossing the finish line was a mere formality for Armstrong, now one short of the record for Tour victories and already one of the greatest cyclists in history.
He never relinquished the overall leader's jersey after putting it on 10 days ago when he took control with his trademark surges through the mountains. The 30-year-old cyclist who overcame cancer has turned the gruelling three-week event into his personal showcase and plans to return for the next two years to try to break the record. As he cycled in the main pack in the final stage, he held a glass of champagne -- enjoying a little sip early on -- and he took a congratulatory call from President Bush after the victory ceremony.
Armstrong's tranquil ride to the finish mirrored the rest of the Tour. Neither rivals nor the demanding course of 2,032 miles seemed to test him during a race with fewer of the unfounded accusations that Armstrong takes banned drugs (he has never failed a test). He covered all that ground with an overall time of 82 hours, 5 minutes, 12 seconds. The winning margin over runner-up Joseba Beloki of Spain was seven minutes 17 seconds, making it Armstrong's second-biggest victory. He beat Alex Zuelle by seven minutes 37 seconds in 1999 for his first Tour de France championship. Raimondas Rumsas of Lithuania was third overall, eight minutes 17 seconds back. No other rider finished within 13 minutes of Armstrong's total time.
Thousands of fans watched Sunday, many waving the Stars and Stripes, as Armstrong moved closer to the Tour record of five titles, shared by four riders. Only Miguel Indurain won five in a row, from 1991- 95. Armstrong is the first American with four Tour trophies. Greg Lemond, the only other US champion of cycling's most prestigious event, won three.
Looking ahead to 2004 and the possibility of becoming the only six-time winner of the Tour de France, Armstrong said his US Postal Service team is "one of the strongest in the history of cycling. I hope to ride with them for two more years."
Asked about the 2003 Tour, Armstrong said: "Of course, I will try to win."
"It's always complicated, difficult to reach the maximum level," he said. "I love the race, my job, cycling."
The cyclist from Austin, Texas, has been a special inspiration to many people -- not just sports fans -- because of his struggle with testicular cancer, which spread to his lungs and brain and nearly killed him six years ago. The cyclist's Lance Armstrong Foundation currently raises money for cancer survivors.
"Lance is doing so much for the cancer community, so we said we have to do something for him," said a member of the foundation, Jerry Kelly of Birmingham, Alaska, who followed the race with his wife around France.
He is doing much for the cancer community, and much to aspiring cyclists around the world. On Sunday, cycling community, and much Robbie McEwen of Australia won Sunday's 89.3-mile stage and took the green jersey for the Tour's best sprinter. Laurent Jalabert of France won the red polka-dot jersey as best climber, while Ivan Basso of Italy won the white jersey for best young rider. Armstrong, meanwhile, was simply the best.
He seized the lead in the first mountain leg at La Mongie in the Pyrenees, and nearly doubled it by sprinting up a tough climb to the Plateau de Beille in the next day's 12th stage. On the formidable Mont Ventoux in the southern Provence region, Armstrong finished third but still took a comfortable lead of four minutes 21 seconds by finishing nearly two minutes in front of his nearest pursuer, Beloki.
And once again, just like that, Armstrong was on his way.
"Armstrong has shown he has the blood of champions flowing through his veins," the head of Beloki's team, Manolo Saiz, said after the Ventoux stage. "He is much stronger than us. We see it day after day."
Indeed, despite already holding a daunting edge in the overall standings, Armstrong went out and padded the lead by 45 seconds in the last three mountain stages. Then, as if feeling the need to show he truly is the best on a bicycle, Armstrong won the 19th stage Saturday by nearly a minute.
"I can remember in 1999 being so nervous every day and worried that I would lose the race in an instant," Armstrong told the press on Saturday. "I don't have those fears any more."
But Armstrong knows he already has made his mark.
"Regardless of one victory, two victories, four victories, there's never been a victory by a cancer survivor," he said. "That's a fact that hopefully I'll be remembered for."
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