Armstrong Makes History but Lives in the Present

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 29, 2002

Armstrong Makes History but Lives in the Present

Lance Armstrong won his fourth Tour de France on Sunday but dismissed any comparisons with former cycling greats.

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Lance Armstrong won his fourth Tour de France on Sunday but dismissed any comparisons with former cycling greats.

"These last few days, I have had lots of questions about history and legacy but I'm still an active cyclist," he said when asked what mark he thought he would leave in the history of the sport.

"It's hard to know the significance of it in the world, in the world of sport, in the world of cycling. I just live for the moment," he added.

The American became the fifth rider to win four Tours after Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Belgian Eddy Merckx and Spaniard Miguel Indurain.

All went ahead to win a fifth and Armstrong said it was the task he was now facing rather than looking to the past.

"It's difficult for me to say what is going to be remembered in 10 or 50 years. It's a little bit difficult for me to relate to that," he said.

But the Texan, who returned from a near-fatal cancer to win his first Tour in 1999, repeated that he thought his extraordinary recovery and the hope it gave to millions of cancer-affected persons would probably stay as his greatest achievement.

"Regardless of winning one victory, two or four victories there has never been a victory by a cancer survivor. Hopefully that's something I will be remembered for," he said.

Armstrong's fourth winning Tour was the shortest in history and arguably the US Postal leader's easiest victory.

Such was his domination of the three-week race that the Tour bunch spontaneously started calling him "the boss".

ADVICE

Before him, only Merckx and Hinault had received such an honour from Tour followers.

But the American was not convinced he really ruled the show.

"In this era of cycling, I don't think there's is a 'patron' (boss in French), the field is too deep, cycling is different from when Hinault or Merckx were racing.

"It's not easy to control 180 guys. They're doing what they want. There's pressure from the team, from the sponsors. You could bring back Hinault or Merckx in the Tour, they would not listen to them either," he said.

Despite his claims, the American was so impressive from the prologue, which he won, to the last time trial on the eve of the finish in Paris, which he also won, that it seemed his rivals were content to just pay him the respect he deserved.

But Armstrong insisted his fourth crowning had not been that easy and that he owed a lot to his US Postal team mates.

"It's never easy. In cycling, when you have a good team and a complete team it makes life easier.

"We had the most experienced team, the most motivated team, they helped me through these three weeks," he said.

His rivals, and especially the powerful ONCE team led by Spaniard Joseba Beloki, were not as good as they claimed to be before the Tour.

And comments by ONCE chief Manolo Saiz before the start that the American was not as strong as in previous years acted@as a spur for the Texan rider.

"Manolo definitely announced his ambitions before the Tour. I think he really encouraged his athletes to believe in these ambitions.

"I love to read those things, it works well for me, for my motivation," he said.

TEAM WORK

Armstrong, helped by impressive Spanish team mates Roberto Heras and Jose-Luis Rubiera in the mountains, had a word of advice for his opponents.

"To have a good team, it has to start with the leader of the team, the management of the team and it trickles down from there.

"You need a leader, a climber, you need 'rouleurs' (pacesetters on the flat). Perhaps other teams are missing the overall plan," he said.

Part of Armstrong's secret, apart from his motivation and exceptional mental strength has been his gift for picking the right men to surround him.

Asked what would remain of his 2002 Tour campaign, he evoked moments of friendship within the team and of the race proper.

"(American Team mate) Floyd Landis brought a ZZ Top CD. In the bus we would put on that southern rock'n roll as hard as we could, and there's a Czech, a Russian and Spanish guys in the team and they would go 'who the hell is ZZ Top?'

"That's what this team is about, we can do goofy things. In the future, every time I hear a ZZ Top song, I'll think of this team," he said.

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