| | By Andrew Hood
ABC Sports Online
PARIS -- Lance Armstrong did for the second time what no one expected him to do at all.
The fiery Texan was crowned winner of the Tour de France for the second consecutive time Sunday in Paris. Armstrong beat the top European cyclists at their own game. This year, there's no doubting Armstrong's dominance in sport's most grueling race.
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Lance Armstrong is ready to rest after a grueling few weeks. |
"This year's Tour was harder than last year's. I arrive to Paris more tired than last year," he said, proudly holding up his son, Luke, dressed in yellow to match dad's maillot jaune. "This little guy has given me a lot of motivation over the past year. It's my first Tour as a father. It's more special for us."
Armstrong enjoyed the party. Hundreds of Americans showed up to cheer him on as Armstrong was draped in the Stars and Stripes and the Texan flag. Smiling from ear to ear, the Texan soaked up the party-like atmosphere.
"I can't believe how many Americans are here!" Armstrong exclaimed. "This is a great day. A great do for me. A great day for the team."
There was one last stage to finish before Armstrong and his teammates went to a private bash at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. The Tour's final day started under the Eiffel Tower and wound through the narrow streets of Paris. The last day typically comes down to a final sprint and that's what happened again this year.
With movie stars Robin Williams, Michael J. Fox and Eric Idle cheering him on, Armstrong enjoyed his day in the sun.
Last year, Armstrong made headlines around the world when he came back from cancer to win cycling's most important race. This year Armstrong won in an even more dramatic fashion, at least within the world of European cycling, dominating the world's hardest bike race from start to finish.
"I don't consider this year a comeback like last year. I consider this a confirmation of last year," he said. "Last year I knew (Marco) Pantani wasn't there. (Jan) Ullrich wasn't there. I couldn't control that and I had to show up and race against anyone who was there. But they were critical of my performance and I thought a lot about that, a lot. All winter, all spring, all May and June, all of Hautacam, all of Ventoux.
"You could have filled a team with people who said they could win the Tour after Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France. (Frank) Vandenbroucke, (Laurent) Jalabert, (Michele) Bartoli, (Abraham) Olano ? everybody said if he can win, I can win. They were all here. It is a vindication."
By the end of the race, it really didn't matter who was at the start line. Armstrong whipped them all.
Armstrong removed the lone blot from his otherwise dominant performance when he won Friday's individual time trial, beating Ullrich by 25 seconds in the race against clock.
Armstrong's story this year lacks the melodramatic punch of the cancer comeback of 1999, but the 28-year-old says the press has it all wrong. Every year Armstrong is alive is a victory.
"I knew it would not be a news item like it was 12 months ago. In my mind and my heart, it's still my main objective because I want to survive the illness long-term," Armstrong said. "Last year was a big story, the comeback and the victory in the Tour de France. Every year I come back to do this is another story. I wish it was more of a news item."
Now that Armstrong has won two in a row, how many more can he win? Only four men have won five Tours; Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
He has the talent, he has the determination, but does he have the motivation to live like a hermit and sacrifice his entire season to be in peak performance for three weeks in July? Can Armstrong be cycling's next dominator and win five Tours and maybe more? It's a question Armstrong wants to end speculation now.
"I don't know if I have the desire to do that because I now have a wonderful family that ultimately I want to spend time with. It would be crazy for me to think I can win five in a row," Armstrong said. "For me to win five, I would have to do something like seven because you can't win every year. I immediately want to end that speculation because that will never happen."
But Armstrong couldn't help himself. He leaves the door open for future success.
"The way I train and the way I race, it's all based on motivation and the love of the sport. If I love the sport and love what I do, if I want to do it another 3-4-5 years, maybe I'll try. When you speak of the people who've won five, I think they are a lot more talented than I am."
Joining Armstrong in future Tours will be a strong group of Americans. Seven finished the Tour this year, including Fred Rodriguez, who helped Mapei teammate Stefano Zanini win the 21st stage on Sunday.
"Zanini deserved to win here today. He's sacrificed for the team all season, helping Tom Steels and then helping me win stages. We gave him the queen stage for the sprinters," Rodriguez said. "I'm happy with my first Tour. I had one third place and two fourths. I know my day will come."
The other Americans to reach Paris were Tyler Hamilton, Kevin Livingston, George Hincapie, Frankie Andreu and Bobby Julich. Chann McRae and Jonathan Vaughters crashed out of the Tour.
Julich made Tour headlines Sunday, but not the way he wanted. Third in 1998, Julich struggled in this year's Tour and finished an unremarkable 48th more than 1 hour, 44 minutes behind Armstrong. Coming into the finish Sunday, Dutch sprinter Jeroen Blijlevens started yelling at the Credit Agricole rider about crossing his line. Blijlevens shoved Julich and an enraged Julich threw his helmet at Blijlevens, who in turn punched Julich in the face.
"He can't sprint anymore, so he has to pick on a rider like me," Julich said. "Blijlevens was mad at me because I brought up Magnus (Backstaedt). If the cameras weren't there, I would have hit him back."
Blijlevens was given a $125 fine, kicked out of the race on the last day and won't be a general classification in the final Tour score sheet.
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