Armstrong is more than a championship bicylist

Lance Armstrong is one of a kind.
He won the 101st running of the Tour de France, becoming the first man to win the race six times.
"When I won the first one, I thought I could die and go away a happy man. To win six is very hard to put into words," Armstrong said Sunday. "I'm happy because it's over. I'm tired, in the head, in the legs. Everywhere."
Spending three weeks pedaling a bicycle over 2,100 miles of the French countryside -- mountains included -- will do that to you.
But even his six Tour wins is not Armstrong's biggest victory. He won that one over cancer.
Eight years ago, Armstrong was given less than a 50 percent chance of overcoming testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.
Armstrong is not only alive today, in cycling history he has become immortal.
At the age of 32, Armstrong pulled away from the Tour's other five-time champions Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Miguel Indurain and Bernard Hinault. Granted, those are not exactly household names, at least not in America, but until Armstrong came along, the Tour de France was basically a footnote during July sports broadcasts in the United States (American Greg LeMond's three victories notwithstanding).
A changed sport
Armstrong has put the Tour on the American sports map. He and his U.S. Postal Service team have also changed the very nature of the race. Riders now train harder, study course routes more meticulously and recognize the difference that new technology can make in the race.
But more than that, Armstrong has showed the world what it means to persevere. He has overcome disease, rough terrain, crashes and determined competitors in his six years of Tour competition.
While he has been the subject of some sniping in the sport, the highest compliment was paid to him by his most serious rival. "Lance is riding in a different league. I have enormous respect for the way he rides. He deserved to win," said Jan Ullrich of Germany. Ullrich is a five-time runner-up in the race, thanks, primarily, to Armstrong.
At 32, Armstrong is an old cyclist, and there is a new generation emerging. He says he will race in the Tour again, but perhaps not next year.
That seems to be a recognition by Armstrong of a reality that transcends sport or cycling, that everything has a beginning and an end. Even a phenomenal winning streak cannot go on for ever.