Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France's final time trial on Saturday, giving him the stage win he lacked and all but guaranteeing him a seventh consecutive -- and last -- Tour title to round out a stellar career.
Armstrong beat second-placed Jan Ullrich of Germany by 23 seconds in the 20th stage to extend his already comfortable race lead -- setting him up for a victory ride on Sunday's last leg into Paris, when the 33-year-old will retire.
Unlike his previous six winning Tours, the American this year had not won an individual stage -- before now.
PHOTO: AP
Riding with an aerodynamic bike, helmet and suit to reduce wind drag and save seconds, Armstrong made easy work of the winding, hilly and crowd-lined 55.5km route that looped north of Saint-Etienne in central France.
Armstrong, as race leader, set out last of the 155 riders, his legs whirring, the yellow jersey on his back. He trailed Ivan Basso of Italy at the first time-check, but was leading at the second and stayed ahead from that point.
"Quite honestly, I wasn't absolutely sure I could do it," Armstrong said. "I thought Jan would be strong, and then when I got to the first check I saw that Ivan was seven seconds up and I thought, `Oh boy, this could be an interesting day.'"
PHOTO: AP
"I ended up turning things around and winning," he said. "So, pleasant surprise."
He even overtook Denmark's Mickael Rasmussen, who had started out six minutes before him but had a disastrous ride on the tricky and technical route's sharp bends, fast downhills and tiring uphills.
"It's nice to finish your career on a high note," said Armstrong. "As a sportsman, I wanted to go out on top."
Armstrong's time was 1 hour, 11 minutes and 46 seconds, for an average speed of 46.4kph. His three children were at the finish to see him climb onto the podium and don another race leader's yellow jersey -- the 82nd of his career.
Only Belgian Eddy Merckx -- with 111 -- has won more.
The individual stage win was the 22nd of Armstrong's career. Eleven of those were time trials. Armstrong also won three team trials with his support riders.
Armstrong said he was retiring with "no regrets." Winning the Tour has brought him huge fame and fortune. "There's no reason to continue. I don't need more," he said.
"My time is up -- I don't crave attention."
Tears filled his eyes and his lips trembled as he mounted the podium. He pointed to his children and opened his arms. His five-year-old son Luke stood with his chest out, looking proud.
"He's good," said Luke.
Armstrong's rockstar girlfriend Sheryl Crow knelt at the foot of the podium with Armstrong's three-year-old twin daughters, Grace and Isabelle. Armstrong's mother Linda hugged his team director.
Armstrong said having children there was "a dream for me."
"I wanted to ride in today and ride into Paris in yellow for them."
On Monday, Armstrong is taking them on holiday in the south of France, the rest of his life ahead of him. Gaunt and tanned after three brutal weeks on French roads, Armstrong said he would go to the beach, drink wine, eat and "not worry about a thing."
At this Tour, he hammered his rivals from the first day in the opening time trial, finishing second well ahead of Ullrich and other top challengers. He built on his lead in the first day in the Alps and comfortably controlled the race from that point -- silencing doubters who questioned whether he still had the will and the legs to win.
Armstrong said that while he is retiring from cycling, he would keep fit and perhaps take part in mountain bike or cyclo-cross races from time to time.
"It's not as if I'm going to sit around and be a fat slob," he said.
Ullrich's ride moved him up from fourth to third in the overall standings, displacing Rasmussen.
"I gave everything I had but it was not enough against Lance," said the 1997 Tour winner. "But I'm happy to be on the podium and to finish this Tour in good health despite the two crashes I had."
Basso placed fifth in the time trial, 1:54 behind Armstrong, but good enough to keep second place on the podium in Paris -- improving on last year's third place.
Armstrong tipped Basso as his possible successor, saying: "Ivan proved that he is a great climber and perhaps the future of this race."
Overall, Armstrong's lead on Basso grew to 4:40. Ullrich is 6:21 behind. Rasmussen had been in third place at the start of the stage, but crashed negotiating a roundabout, crashed again into a ditch, and had repeated mechanical problems, changing bikes several times.
He finished 77th, 7:47 behind Armstrong. He dropped to 7th place overall, 11:33 behind Armstrong. He had started just 3:46 back and with a lead of 2:12 over Ullrich.
"It's a big day," said Armstrong's team director, Johan Bruyneel. Armstrong "controlled the situation perfectly."
"Now we can really start to party," he added.
Of course they respect Lance Armstrong's amazing record, but organizers say next year's Tour de France will be more exciting without him.
"The suspense will be far higher, there will no longer be a huge favorite -- the boss who rules the Tour de France will be gone," assistant race director Christian Prudhomme said Saturday, the penultimate day of the three-week race.
Armstrong is retiring Sunday -- he hopes with a seventh, and last, Tour victory. He was again dominant this year -- erasing doubts that he lacked the legs and the will, at age 33, to keep winning. The Texan crushed rivals in the opening day's time trial on July 2 and then built on his lead in the mountains.
"You cannot say the Tour was overwhelmed with suspense," said Prudhomme. But he insisted the race remained as popular as ever.
"Were there fewer people lining the roads? No. Were there fewer people watching television? No."
RECORD SPEED
This year's Tour de France is expected to go down in the record books as the fastest ever.
Going into Saturday's penultimate stage, a time trial, the average speed over the three weeks was 41.69kph. That compares to the record 40.94kph set in 2003, when Lance Armstrong won his fifth consecutive Tour.
The super-fast speeds this year have again raised questions about whether doping may be a factor, despite the daily anti-drug controls. Race organizers noted Saturday that tail winds followed the riders for much of the Tour, contributing to the high speeds.
"The average will without doubt be beaten," said race director Jean-Marie Leblanc. "This year, there were favorable winds nearly all the time."
"The physical preparation of the athletes is improving, the training, the medical care, the bikes, the state of the roads," he added.
"Now, is doping an additional factor? We don't know. The controls, I hope, are as effective as possible."
BLOOD TESTS
Eighteen leading riders at the Tour de France were given blood tests on Saturday before the final time trial -- and all passed, cycling's governing body said.
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