Lance Armstrong Sets Unprecedented Record with Victory in Tour de France - 2004-07-26

In the most famous cycling event in the world, the Tour de France, American Lance Armstrong achieved victory for the sixth time. Armstrong, who was attempting to win the Tour de France for the sixth consecutive year, reached this unprecedented and historic record on Sunday... No cyclist had ever won the Tour de France six times before. Armstrong's sixth championship title in the Tour de France comes just eight years after he had less than a 50 percent chance of survival due to a deadly form of cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Last year, Armstrong won the Tour de France for the fifth time, equaling the record of five victories held by Jacques Anquetil from France, Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx from Belgium, and Miguel Indurain from Spain. On Sunday, in the final day of the Tour de France, the women cyclists of the Tour de France traveled the final 163-kilometer route from Montreau to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where Tom Boonen from Belgium won the stage... However, Armstrong, whose overall time was better than all the women cyclists, comfortably secured the championship. This American star crossed the finish line with a time of 6 minutes and 19 seconds, better than Andreas Kloden from Germany, who came in second, and Ivan Basso from Italy, who placed third. Jan Ullrich from Germany was recognized as the fourth in the overall final ranking.