For one last time, Lance Armstrong stood atop the winner's podium in Paris as the Star Spangled Banner rang out over the Champs-Elysees -- the perfect send-off for the cancer survivor who finished his amazing career with a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory.
Against the backdrop of the Arc de Triomphe, the Tour's record-setting champion held his yellow cap over his heart Sunday as the American anthem played. His three children joined him. His twin daughters, Grace and Isabelle, age 3, wore yellow dresses -- the color of the race leader's jersey that Armstrong slipped into one last time before retirement.
"Vive le Tour, forever," he said.
PHOTO: AP
"I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live," Armstrong said. "And there are no secrets -- this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it.''
Armstrong, looking gaunt, hollow-cheeked and tanned after riding 3,593km across France and its mountains over the past three weeks, said US President George W. Bush telephoned him to say: "Congratulations, you're a great American."
In retiring a winner, Armstrong achieved a rare feat in sports -- going out on top. He said his decision was final and he's walking away with no regrets.
PHOTO: AP
"I'm finished," Armstrong told a motorcycle-borne TV reporter as he rode a victory lap of the Champs-Elysees, waving to the crowds and accompanied by a rider waving the Stars and Stripes.
On Monday, he'll be on a beach in the south of France, "with a beer, having a blast," he said. He says his children will be his first priority in retirement.
"Daddy, can we go home and play?" his five-year-old son, Luke, whispered to him as he stepped off the podium.
Sheryl Crow, Armstrong's rockstar girlfriend, cried behind her dark sunglasses.
"This is the way he wanted to finish his career, so it's very emotional," she said.
Armstrong mentioned Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and Andre Agassi as personal inspirations.
"Those are guys that you look up to you, guys that have been at the top of their game for a long time," he said.
As for his legacy, he said, "I can't be in charge of dictating what it says or how you remember it."
"In five, 10, 15, 20 years, we'll see what the legacy is. But I think we did come along and revolutionize the cycling part, the training part, the equipment part. We're fanatics."
One hand on his handlebars, the other holding a flute of champagne, Armstrong toasted his teammates as he pedaled into Paris. He held up seven fingers -- one for each win -- and a piece of paper with the number 7 on it.
His sixth win last year already set a record, putting Armstrong ahead of four five-time Tour winners -- Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgian Eddy Merckx and Spaniard Miguel Indurain.
Armstrong donned his 83rd and last yellow jersey in Paris. Only Merckx -- with 111 -- won more.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was