Armstrong wins record sixth Tour

PARIS — Lance Armstrong raced onto the crowd-lined Champs-Elysees as a yellow blur, bathed in the shimmering light of a 24-carat, gold-leaf bike; a golden helmet; and the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Earlier, he let up on the pedals long enough to sip some celebratory champagne.

Nothing but the best for cycling’s best.

Armstrong rode into history yesterday, 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 the testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.

His streak of six straight crowns reinvigorated 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 superstar.

Taking advantage of the leisurely pace of the final stage, Armstrong sat up in the saddle and held up all five fingers on his black-gloved right hand and the index finger on his left.

Counting to six was never so sweet for the 32-year-old Texan.

“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 that Armstrong savored with the champagne. 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,” Mr. Bush told him.

With the Arc de Triomphe in the background, Armstrong put his yellow bicycle cap over his heart as the American flag was raised during “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 behind). Ullrich was fourth (8:50 back), 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 performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong’s victories and his inspiring comeback from cancer have drawn new fans to a race that has been won five times by only 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,” fellow American rider Bobby Julich said. “He has set the blueprint for success, and he deserves all the success that he is getting.”

Last year, Armstrong beat Ullrich by just 61 seconds — by far his narrowest victory. He now admits that 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.

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 accusations that he might be taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Repeatedly pointing out that he never has failed a test, Armstrong attributes his success to hard training and says the accusations only fuel his motivation.

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 still hasn’t decided whether he will be back next year to compete in the race he loves above all others, for which he trains relentlessly in Europe, while his three children remain in Texas with former wife Kristin.

The couple separated in January 2003 after four years of marriage and divorced in December. Armstrong is dating 42-year-old rock star Sheryl Crow, who he met in October of last year at a fund-raiser in Las Vegas.

Armstrong bought a house in the same Austin, Texas, neighborhood in which his ex-wife lives to be close to his children. He will skip next month’s Olympic Games to spend time with them.

Victory has brought Armstrong fame and wealth and softened some of the brashness he displayed when he was younger. He has 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 don’t know what I’ll do next summer. I suspect I’ll be here,” he said. “It’s too big of a race. My only hesitance is I think the people and the event perhaps need a change, new faces, a new winner.

“If I’m here,” he added. “I race to win.”