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Armstrong wins 7th straight Tour de France
Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan eventually won the final stage, with Armstrong finishing safely in the pack. He won the Tour by 4 minutes and 40 seconds over his closest challenger, Ivan Basso of Italy, who improved on his third-place finish last year. Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner who was the rival Armstrong said he feared most, was third, 6:21 back. Armstrong praised the two riders _ who could fight to succeed him next year. "To end a career with this podium is really a dream podium," Armstrong said. "This is the way he wanted to finish his career, so it's very emotional," said his rockstar girlfriend Sheryl Crow. The stage started as it has done for the past six years _ with Armstrong celebrating in the yellow jersey. One hand on his handlebars, the other holding a flute of champagne, the 33-year-old Texan toasted his teammates as he pedaled into Paris to collect his crown. He held up seven fingers _ one for each win _ and a piece of paper with the number 7 on it. His sixth win last year already set a record, putting Armstrong ahead of four other riders. Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgian Eddy Merckx and Spaniard Miguel Indurain all won five Tours. Armstrong's new record of seven wins confirmed him as one of the greatest cyclists ever, and capped a career where he came back from cancer diagnosed in 1996 to dominate the sport's most prestigious and taxing race.
But Armstrong's last
ride as a professional _ the closing 144.5-kilometer (89.8-mile) 21st stage into Paris from
Corbeil-Essonnes south of the capital _ was not without incident.
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