Tour de France Final results (spoiler thread)

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Hooray!!!! Lance Armstrong has overcome cancer to win his 4th Tour De France!!!!

[alisasny]

This is great!!

And to those mad about this thread, blame the networks for the tape delay. Free Republic does not work well on tape delay!!

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

The Tour de France. In the word of competitive cycling, it is the supreme test of strength and endurance. For 22 days, 20 different stages and 2,286 miles, some of the world's most conditioned athletes compete literally head to head as they work the pedals of their racing bicycles against hills and valleys, city streets and always the onset of exhaustion. As in all sports, there sometimes arises a champion of champions. He or she is the one who is in the lead more than anyone else, the one who wins not just by a nose, but clearly out front for all to see. Lance Armstrong was not supposed to be that champion of this year's Tour de France. His doctors really expected him to be weakened and likely dead of cancer. But Lance paid no attention to that kind of thinking and now stands triumphant over both cancer and the Tour de France. [Lance Armstrong Book Cover]

Lance Armstrong's story begins in Plano, Texas. Like many athletic prodigies, his talents appeared early. He could probably have excelled in many different sports. As it was, he became a top swimmer and a triathlete during his teen age years. The U. S. Cycling Federation took notice and got him training with the Junior national Cycling Team before he even graduated from high school. Within a year or so he'd competed in the Junior world Championships in Moscow and was signed to the professional/amateur racing team sponsored by Subaru-Montgomery. He repaid their confidence by winning the U. S. Amateur Championships.

Lance Armstrong appeared to be at the threshold of a charmed life. Young, strong and talented, his career started taking on the appearance of super-stardom. The Motorola team soon recruited him to join their top-rated U.S. cycling team and looked for great things as Lance entered the arena of international cycling. His aggressive style and winning spirit helped his team reach number five in the world by 1993. Just three years later, in 1996, Lance was expected to win the Tour de France itself. That year he'd already won the Tour DuPont and Fleche Wallone races. The stars and planets were lining up his way. He was the number one ranked cyclist in the world.

It was possible, just possible, that Lance Armstrong would become the next Greg LeMond, three time champion of the Tour de France and the only American to win it. Greg's last victory had been in 1990. Now, in 1996, a new American champion cyclist would arise to become known the world over. He was physically invincible. Oh, sure, he was "sore in the saddle," but he brushed that off to the grueling regimen of cycle training. Then there were symptoms he couldn't ignore anymore. The headaches, blurry vision, soreness in the groin area, overall ill feeling and even coughing up blood were enough to get him into the doctor's office. Suddenly, out of apparently nowhere, his entire life, his future, his well being all came crashing down at once. The diagnosis had come back as cancer, massive cancer.

What Lance didn't know was spreading like wildfire throughout his body was choriocarcinoma, an especially aggressive form of testicular cancer. This was no microscopic tumor caught in the early stages. His cancer had established itself in his abdomen, his lungs and even his brain. There were eleven masses in his lungs alone, some the size of golf balls. His brain was invaded by two malignancies. Best estimate of survival? Only 50/50.

It is said that the mind and the body are linked inextricably and that how you think can promote or hinder the healing process. Perhaps that as much as anything else explains the miraculous recovery of Lance Armstrong in the year from 1996 to 1997. He gives credit to the best doctors he could find in the field, the doctors at Indiana University. Their approach was as aggressive as the cancer itself. He underwent removal of a testicle and brain surgery, followed by intense chemotherapy. It was a year of pain and misery. But it was not a year of depression, resignation or failure. For in 1997, Lance was declared, incredibly, cancer-free. He had fought through the darkness, and now the brightness of success had returned.

In just two short years his body came back, and it came back to a strength perhaps greater than even before. In the Tour de France, the leaders are given the honor of wearing traditional colored jerseys to show their standing in the race. The best mountain climber wears a polka dot jersey. The best sprinter get to wear a green one. But the most coveted jersey is the yellow one, representing the shortest time for total distance covered; in other words, the leader of the race. Often this jersey goes back and forth among strong contenders. But in 1999, Lance Armstrong captured the yellow jersey in the early stages of the race and kept it course after course, until finally, he led his U.S. Postal sponsored team through the streets of Paris to finish on the Champs Elysees with a seven minute, 37 second lead over the next racer. His victories, both in athletic competition and health, were dramatic...and now complete.

At the victory line in Paris, Lance Armstrong is quoted as saying "If there's one thing I say to those who use me as their example, it's that if you ever get a second chance in life, you've got to go all the way." He has done just that. He's won the Tour de France and established his own foundation to fund testicular cancer research. He's 27 years old, a champion athlete, husband and soon to be father, in the prime of heath again, and perhaps the best example of what a second chance in life can really become.

[LibWhacker]

Anyone know what is the record for most wins?

[alisasny]

Several have 5 wins.

[crazykatz]

Well, God Bless him!!

[TxBec]

Proud Texas bump!

[Weimdog]

There's 4 men who have won 5. Miguel Indurain was the last to win 5 in a row. My guess is Armstrong will be the first to win 6 in a row.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

He won with a seven minute lead. Amazing.

[MoJo2001]

WOOHOO!! We beat the Eurosnots again! Oh! Do you hear that? Oh yeah! That's Lance's draft blowing through those sorry French!! Woohoo!

[prisoner6]

HEE-YAH for Lance! In troubled times a REAL AMERICAN HERO!

God bless him, and may he capture a 5th next year. (Just wish the Postal Service wasn't the sponsor...)

prisoner6

[alisasny]

Jacques Anquetil, France 5 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964

Eddy Merckx, Belgium 5 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974

Bernard Hinault, France 5 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985

Miguel Indurain, Spain 5 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995

[mountaineer]

Hat's off to Lance! Didn't LeMond win four or five Tours, even after being shot in the back in a hunting accident? Those cyclists are the real tough guys of sport, looks like.

[Weimdog]

Here is a complete list of past winners courtesy of velonews.com:

Riders who have won four or more Tours de France:
Jacques Anquetil (Fra): 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
Eddy Merckx (Bel): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974
Bernard Hinault (Fra): 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985
Miguel Indurain (Spa): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
Lance Armstrong (USA): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002


List of Tour de France winners:

1903 Maurice Garin (Fra)
1904 Henri Cornet (Fra)
1905 Louis Trousselier (Fra)
1906 Rene Pottier (Fra)
1907 Lucien Petit-breton (Fra)
1908 Lucien Petit-breton (Fra)
1909 Francois Faber (Lux)
1910 Octave Lapize (Fra)
1911 Gustave Garrigou (Fra)
1912 Odile Defraye (Bel)
1913 Philippe Thys (Bel)
1914 Philippe Thys (Bel)
1919 Firmin Lambot (Bel)
1920 Philippe Thys (Bel)
1921 Leon Scieur (Bel)
1922 Firmin Lambot (Bel)
1923 Henri Pelissier (Fra)
1924 Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)
1925 Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)
1926 Lucien Buysse (Bel)
1927 Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
1928 Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
1929 Maurice De Waele (Bel)
1930 Andre Leducq (Fra)
1931 Antonin Magne (Fra)
1932 Andre Leducq (Fra)
1933 Georges Speicher (Fra)
1934 Antonin Magne (Fra)
1935 Romain Maes (Bel)
1936 Sylvere Maes (Bel)
1937 Roger Lapebie (Fra)
1938 Gino Bartali (Ita)
1939 Sylvere Maes (Bel)
1947 Jean Robic (Fra)
1948 Gino Bartali (Ita)
1949 Fausto Coppi (Ita)
1950 Ferdi Kubler (Swi)
1951 Hugo Koblet (Swi)
1952 Fausto Coppi (Ita)
1953 Louison Bobet (Fra)
1954 Louison Bobet (Fra)
1955 Louison Bobet (Fra)
1956 Roger Walkowiak (Fra)
1957 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1958 Charly Gaul (Lux)
1959 Federico Bahamontes (Spa)
1960 Gastone Nencini (Ita)
1961 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1962 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1963 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1964 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1965 Felice Gimondi (Ita)
1966 Lucien Aimar (Fra)
1967 Roger Pingeon (Fra)
1968 Jan Janssen (Ned)
1969 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1970 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1971 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1972 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1973 Luis Ocana (Spa)
1974 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1975 Bernard Thevenet (Fra)
1976 Lucien Van Impe (Bel)
1977 Bernard Thevenet (Fra)
1978 Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1979 Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1980 Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)
1981 Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1982 Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1983 Laurent Fignon (Fra)
1984 Laurent Fignon (Fra)
1985 Bernard Hinault (Fra)
1986 Greg LeMond (USA)
1987 Stephen Roche (Irl)
1988 Pedro Delgado (Spa)
1989 Greg LeMond (USA)
1990 Greg LeMond (USA)
1991 Miguel Indurain (Spa)
1992 Miguel Indurain (Spa)
1993 Miguel Indurain (Spa)
1994 Miguel Indurain (Spa)
1995 Miguel Indurain (Spa)
1996 Bjarne Riis (Den)
1997 Jan Ullrich (Ger)
1998 Marco Pantani (Ita)
1999 Lance Armstrong (USA)
2000 Lance Armstrong (USA)
2001 Lance Armstrong (USA)
2002 Lance Armstrong (USA)


 

[alisasny]

Armstrong's final winning margin over second-place Joseba Beloki of Spain was 7 minutes, 17 seconds.

It was Armstrong's second-biggest victory. He beat Alex Zuelle by 7:37 in 1999.

[veronica]

An inspiration to all Americans and all cancer survivors. Between this and the "miner miracle" - this an especially GREAT DAY to be an American.

[rintense]

Way to go Lance!!!!

[alisasny]

LeMond won 3 times : )

[Jen]

What an amazing feat and amazing man!

[mountaineer]

Let us all blow our noses in the general direction of the French, who heckled Armstrong with accusations of illegal drug use throughout this year's race.