FLASHBACK! CHEERS! ARMSTRONG COASTS TO SEVENTH STRAIGHT TOUR WIN – AND QUITS ON TOP

DATE: 24 July 2005

OCCASION:Tour de France, the 21st and final stage

SIGNIFICANCE: After three weeks and 2,241 blurry miles, Texan Lance Armstrong cruised over the final-stage finish line, 118th of the surviving 155 competitors – having destroyed all opposition in winning an unprecedented seventh consecutive Tour de France. Two weeks in the yellow jersey, his average speed, even via the Alps and Pyrenees, was a blistering 28mph.

FINAL PLACINGS: 1: Lance Armstrong (USA / Discovery Channel)
2: Ivan Basso (Italy / Team CSC)
3: Jan Ullrich (Germany / T-Mobile Team)

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? The trans-atlantic superstar had earlier stated his aim, ‘To go out with my head high and with my children watching me win.’ With his glamorous reign of absolute power over, the French sports paper L’Equipe was left looking forward to a 2006 Tour which would resemble ‘An epic without its hero.’

VENUE: The final stage was a 90-mile stretch between Corbeil-Essonnes and the Champs-Elysees, Paris

TOTAL TOUR ATTENDANCE: 15 million

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