FRANCE: American Floyd Landis is crowned new king of cycling after winning Tour de France.

American Floyd Landis was crowned on Sunday (July 23) Tour de France champion after the parade on the Champs Elysees ended in a sprint won by Norway's Thor Hushovd. Landis sealed his victory after finishing third in Saturday's time trial (July 22), beating his closest rivals to succeed compatriot Lance Armstrong in the race's roll of honour. "All I was trying to do was to make the best of a bad situation," he told Reuters just after he had claimed his prize. "Had I not had a bad day the day before, I probably would never have had to go quite that hard. I was planning on racing a bit more conservative but after I'd lost 8 minutes I didn't really have a choice. I didn't know if it would work, 8 minutes was a lot of time to make up, but I was certainly going to spend everything I had trying." Spain's Oscar Pereiro was second overall and Andreas Kloeden of Germany finished third. "Emotional and happy," said Pereiro, when asked how he felt after the race. Both American and Spanish fans got to the Champs Elysees early and were warming up well ahead of the arrival of their riders. Until Thursday, Pereiro had been tipped to win, but then Landis caught up after falling behind by 8 minutes. Landis gave America its eighth successive victory after his compatriot Lance Armstrong, who won the race seven times in a row, retired after last year's race. "We don't have the allegiance to Lance [Armstrong] per se," said an American fan. "It's the allegiance to America. So if an American wins, that's great. It's excellent." Pereiro's fans were out in full force too. "The most important thing is to take part," said a fan from the Spanish capital Madrid, "and to give our team a big show of support every year, so that our cyclists get better and better." Phonak rider Landis, a former team mate of Armstrong who retired last year following his record seventh consecutive Tour win, made up eight minutes when he won Thursday's 17th stage in the Alps in one of the greatest rides in Tour history. The American had lost ground on the ascent to La Toussuire on Wednesday but dug deep to close the gap on Pereiro in a solo effort reminiscent of the 1971 showing by Spaniard Luis Ocana, who beat Belgian great Eddy Merckx by 8:42 in the Pyrenees. In Sunday's final satage, a group of 14 riders went ahead to open up a 30-second gap during the third of the eight laps on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue. A small bunch of riders, including the top sprinters, broke clear in the last kilometre. Australian Robbie McEwen launched his sprint too early and was denied an unprecedented third victory by Hushovd, who had already won the prologue. Australian Stuart O'Grady took third place. The white jersey for the best young rider went to Italy's Damiano Cunego two years after the "Little Prince" won the Giro d'Italia. McEwen, who won three stages in this year's Tour, claimed the green jersey for the best sprinter for the third time after taking it in 2002 and 2004. Dane Michael Rasmussen retained the polka-dot jersey for the best climber. The finish is the tour climax for riders and for the crowd. Even though the last stage is not the most exciting stage, it is the biggest television audience. The 30-year-old Landis is the new king of cycling, taking over the lead role from retired seven-times winner Lance Armstrong in a five-act epic. The first one took place in Rennes on July 8 when he outpowered the other favourites, finishing second to Ukrainian Serhiy Honchar in the first time trial. The second act came two days later in Bordeaux when the leader of the Phonak team announced he would have hip surgery after the Tour to cure residual pain from a crash in 2003. In act three on July 13, Landis claimed the yellow jersey for the first time in his career after a tough day in the Pyrenees. The fourth act on July 19 was a nightmare. The American had reclaimed the top spot in the showcase stage of L'Alpe d'Huez on July 18 only to crack, losing over 10 minutes and slipping to 11th. After being written off, a sensational charge on the following day saw Landis win stage 17 and rocket back into contention. A powerful show in Saturday's time trial put him back in control for the end of act five of the drama in Paris. It is all a long way from the community of Mennonites, a branch of the Christian Anabaptist church in Pennsylvania into which the American was born. The Landis home had phones and electricity but no television and the young Floyd was longing to escape to discover the world and fulfil his passion for cycling. He bought his first mountain bike at 15, started to train after nightfall, won the first mountain bike race he entered and was crowned junior national champion in 1993. At 20, he decided to move to southern California to become a full time rider, switched to road racing and promptly joined Armstrong's U.S. Postal team. The split between the boss and his lieutenant came in 2005 when Landis joined the Swiss team Phonak. The rest of Landis story is still to be written and it could well depend on the hip surgery he faces. Factbox on American Floyd Landis, who won the Tour de France on Sunday. Born: October 14, 1975 in Farmersville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Team: Phonak Height: 1.78 metres. Weight: 69 kgs Professional victories: 10 * Born in a community of Mennonites, a branch of the Christian Anabaptist church, Landis bought his first mountain bike at 15 and won the first mountain bike race he entered. * In 1995, he moved to California and became a full time rider. Switched to road racing and joined Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal team. * Split with Armstrong in 2005 and joined the Swiss team Phonak. * Won inaugural Tour of California in 2006 as well as Paris-Nice classic and Tour of Georgia. * Battled back from nightmare 16th stage in the Alps to win stages 17 and set up Tour de France triumph.

ITN Source | July 24, 2006

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