"C'est Tres Fantastique!" Lance Armstrong's words as he pedalled down the Champs Elysees, bearing a giant Stars and Stripes which threatened to drag him off his bike, were true in every sense: this was a fantastic Tour de France victory, one which belonged to the realms of fantasy.
The American returned from the severest type of testicular cancer and three months of chemotherapy treatment to score one of the most dominant Tour de France wins in recent years. He is the first winner to take four stages in the race in 15 years, and the first winner to take both mountain and time-trial stages in over a decade. This was also the fastest Tour de France in history, the first time a winner has averaged more than 25 mph.
Armstrong left the United States for Europe at the start of last year with no idea of what awaited him, after coming close to finding himself without a contract. He will return to the United States on Thursday by private jet for a flurry of talk shows and a gigantic press conference organised by Nike.
Victory in the Tour has brought him $2 million (Stg£1.25 million) from his sponsor, the United States Postal Service, and another $2 million is on the way from Nike and his bike supplier, Trek. Of this he has given $1.2 million to the cancer foundation which bears his name.
Armstrong is hot property, but he has had harsh words for those who forgot him in his time of need, notably the French team Cofidis, who signed him shortly before his diagnosis. "They said publicly that they would stand by me and that they wanted to win the Tour de France with Lance Armstrong. Three months later they were back in the hospital in Indianapolis breaking the contract. "They've been in my mind a lot in the last three weeks. The teams who didn't want me when I decided to make my comeback have also been on my mind." After suffering the cruellest ill-luck as his career blossomed in the mid-1990s, few would begrudge Armstrong the good fortune which helped him in his win. This would have been a far closer victory had the runner-up Alex Zulle not lost six minutes in a crash on the second stage. Armstrong's winning margin of seven minutes, 37 seconds was the second largest in this decade.
This Tour has finally seen Sean Kelly's illustrious record of four victories in the points rankings equalled, by the German Erik Zabel. Zabel has managed the feat in four years - it took Kelly seven - and has celebrated each one on the podium on the Champs Elysees with his son Rick, who dyed his hair green yesterday.
Yesterday Australian Robbie McEwen (27) became the first Australian stage winner in the Tour's most prestigious finish.
