PARIS (voa) – American cyclist Lance Armstrong has won a fourth consecutive Tour de France. The three week long race ended in Paris on Sunday with Armstrong a comfortable winner. Armstrong has now won the race more times than any other American and is closing in on the all-time leaders.
Lance Armstrong was so far ahead going into the final day of racing – more than 7 minutes – that he simply had to concentrate on avoiding trouble. He coasted for much of the race and even shared a toast of champagne with U.S. Postal Service teammates en route. He crossed the finish line in the middle of the pack, an easy overall winner.
Armstrong has now won the Tour four consecutive years; only one rider has ever won 5 straight and only four have won 5 times in all. Armstrong, who dominated the mountain stages and time trials in winning 4 individual stages, will be favored to join them next year.
Spain’s Joseba Beloki was second overall, while Raimondas Rumsas of Lithuania took third place, eight minutes, 17 seconds behind Armstrong. It was the American’s second biggest winning margin since first taking the Tour in 1999 with a 7:37 advantage over Alex Zuelle of Switzerland.
The 20th and final stage of the race was won by Robbie McEwen of Australia, who also won the green points-leader jersey. His fellow-Aussie Baden Cooke was second, with Frenchman Damien Nazon finishing third in the 144-kilometer stage from Melun to Paris.
The King of the Mountains trophy went to the sentimental favorite, Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, who announced that this is his final Tour de France.
