Lance Armstrong has just one more line to cross Sunday before seizing his place in sporting history as the first six-time winner of the celebrated Tour de France, an agonizing 23-day race that rewards the fastest overall cyclist.
Champagne was guaranteed to flow among Armstrong's US Postal team as they pedal from Montereau south of Paris to the finish line on the famed Champs-Elysees boulevard so the 32-year-old Texan can collect the winner's yellow jersey.
Only a crash or other disaster can stop him from becoming, in titles at least, the greatest of the Tour's 53 winners.
PHOTO: EPA
"To be on the verge of breaking history is incredibly special," he said Saturday. "If I make it, in yellow, climbing the top step tomorrow and making history will be the moment that I carry forward forever."
While Armstong's victory is all but assured when the race ends at about 5:30pm (1530 GMT), a furious battle was expected for the green jersey that rewards the race's best sprinter. Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd and Eric Zabel will still be vying for that title.
As overall leader, Armstrong set out last Saturday on the rolling 55km time trial course that looped south of Besancon, the birthplace of literary giant Victor Hugo. At the first time check 18km in, Armstrong was already 43 seconds quicker than Germany's Jan Ullrich, considered the American's chief rival when the race got under way July 3.
PHOTO: AFP
At the finish, the Texan almost caught Ivan Basso, even though the Italian started three minutes ahead of him.
The stage win was Armstrong's fifth this Tour, bettering his previous best of four in a single Tour since he inaugurated his reign in 1999 having conquered cancer.
"When I won the first one, I thought I could die and go away a happy man. To win six is very hard to put into words," he said. "I'm happy because it's over. I'm tired, in the head, in the legs. Everywhere."
PHOTO: EPA
Andreas Kloden, Ullrich's teammate, was third in Saturday's race against the clock, 1:27 back from Armstrong, but fast enough to overtake Basso for second in the overall standings. The German champion, who did not finish last year, was delighted.
"It's a dream come true ... The highlight of my career," he said.
Basso, the best young rider of 2002 and seventh last year, should finish third in Paris. Ullrich is destined for fourth -- his first time off the podium.
"Lance is riding in a different league. I have enormous respect for the way he rides. He deserved to win," the German said.
Not only did Armstrong overpower his adversaries from Day 1, but they never rose to the challenge of trying to dethrone him. Aside from Ullrich, Spanish climbers Roberto Heras and Iban Mayo flopped in the mountains and abandoned, and American Tyler Hamilton went home injured.
Armstrong's lead of 6:38 over Kloden is not his biggest margin of victory, which remains 7:37 over Alex Zulle of Switzerland in 1999. But it was far better than last year, when he beat Ullrich by just 61 seconds.
Then, he vowed to roar back this year. He has proved insatiable.
"I'm enjoying the competition more than ever, not to make history, not to make money, not for these things, but just for the thrill of getting on a bike and racing 200 other guys," he said.
Basso is 6:59 behind and Ullrich 9:09 back. With Kloden, they are the only riders within 10 minutes of Armstrong.
In the Alps, he won three stages in a row for the first time.
He also won the second and hardest of two days in the Pyrenees, having allowed Basso to take the first stage a day earlier.
He was also spectacular in the debut time trial, dealing a psychological blow to adversaries from the get-go by placing second.
He also won the team time trial with his US Postal Service squad. Including that collective victory, Armstrong won more than one quarter of this year's 21 stages.
Armstrong said he hasn't decided whether to return in 2005 or miss a year.
"I can't imagine skipping the Tour, and if I do come, I would only come with the perfect condition. I would never come for a promenade," he said. "For me, it's a special, special event and I can't imagine not being here."
Yellow might be the color of the most famous jersey on the Tour de France, but it's not the only one coveted by riders.
Lance Armstrong stands to make history Sunday when he rides into Paris for the final stage as the only six-time winner of the Tour. But he won't be the only cyclist picking up a reward.
The best mountain climber, fastest sprinter and best young prospect each slip on a distinctive jersey of their own when taking the podium on the Champs-Elysees.
Barring injury, illness or a crash, Richard Virenque will be wearing the prestigious "King of the Mountains" red polka-dot jersey, and Russian Vladimir Karpets will wear white as the most impressive young rider.
Still to be decided is who gets the green jersey, awarded to the sprint champion in the showcase event. Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd and Eric Zabel will still be vying for that title.
Virenque, the skinny mountain specialist, will carve his own niche in Tour legend by clinching the polka-dot jersey for a record seventh time.
The 34-year-old won just one mountain stage, while Armstrong clinched three. But Virenque picked up more points than the Texan because he attacked in almost every climb, while Armstrong usually saved his energy for the end of each stage. The number of points available depends on the severity of each ascent.
Riders competing for the white jersey must be born after Jan. 1, 1979 to qualify. The winner is the highest placed young-rider in the overall rankings. Karpets beat French duo Sandy Casar and Thomas Voeckler, who finished second and third respectively.
The polka-dot and green jerseys are calculated by a points system.
A category 1 climb is worth 15 points, a category 2 earns 10, a category 3 yields 4, while a lowly category 4 brings only 3.
The most grueling climbs are ungraded, or "hors categorie." Placing first in one of these earns 20 points. Second place gets 18, with 16 awarded for third.
Additionally, a rider placing first on the final ascent of the day sees his points tally for that climb doubled.
The battle among the three racers for sprint champion remains close, and a feverish sprint to the line was expected. McEwen has 238 points; Hushovd, 227; and Zabel 221.
Winning a flat stage earns 35 points for first; 30 for secondplace and 26 for third place. This is then scaled down so all top 25 riders earn points, with the 25th getting just 1.
McEwen has won two stages so far, Norway's Hushovd has clinched one.
Additionally, extra points -- 6, 4, and 2 -- are available for the top three placings in intermediate sprints during a stage. Even in the mountains, points are available for sprinters, but less than on flats.
Australian McEwen won the title in 2002 -- ending German Zabel's unbroken run from 1996-2001 -- but was beaten by countryman Baden Cooke last year.
Armstrong's likely sixth win has been scored by tallying his overall time after each stage. He also accrued valuable bonus seconds from winning five stages. Each time the Texan crossed the line first he gathered an additional 20 seconds. A second place spot is worth 12 seconds, while third yields 8. This structure excludes individual and team time trials.
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