Make it 8

For the past 7 years, the Tour de France has been dominated by the American rider Lance Armstrong. The tenacious, and at times arrogant, Texan punished fellow cyclists throughout the Tour’s grueling stages, somehow managing to repeatedly crush the opposition during both time trials and mountain stages alike. His narrowest margin of victory was still a solid 61 seconds; his greatest over seven minutes ahead of the second-place rider.

Lance Armstrong has embodied the brutal struggle that is the Tour de France. 20 days of punishing climbs and sprints that break down even the fittest and conditioned of riders. Armstrong himself is a lesson in overcoming adversity, though, having been stricken with cancer early in his career. He decided not to let the ailment win and returned to cycling to claim his seven titles.

This year, Armstrong was not amongst the ranks at the Tour, having retired from participating in the ride through France after collecting his record-setting 7th consecutive victory at last year’s event. Armstrong’s absence opened the door for other nations and riders to take center stage in the world’s premiere cycling event, particularly the strong riders Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who have continually lingered in Armstrong’s shadow during his incredible streak.

However, the day before the Tour was to begin, word came down that Ullrich and Basso were kicked off their respective teams due to recent connections with doping allegations. Now all bets for a Tour victor were off, and the field was wide open for the slew of eager riders to claim their first Tour win.

What developed over the course of the next 23 days was quickly touted as an instant classic in Tour history. After stage 11, Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro and American Floyd Landis traded the yellow jersey several times. Landis overcame a 1:30 gap in Stage 15 to once again adorn the coveted jersey, only to lose it back to Pereiro in Stage 16 with a collapse of monumental proportions. Landis had nothing left to give in the Stage 16 climb, and lost over 8 minutes to the leaders as his drained legs fell way off the pace. Where many were touting Landis as a strong competitor for the Tour victory, he was quickly written off after his collapse.

But Landis wasn’t about to give up that easily despite the sudden overwhelming deficit he faces. Landis was a teammate of Armstrong for three years during Armstrong’s record title streak, before splitting off to Phonak to pursue a leader’s role of his own. Those years with Armstrong not only provided valuable experience in weathering the vigors of the Tour, it also gave insight into Armstrong’s tenacity and ability to battle through every imaginable obstacle to reach your goal.

None of this was wasted on Landis.

Landis took to the roads in Stage 17, another brutal mountain stage, with sheer determination, grit, and defiance on his face. He made an early break away from the peleton, the first move to hopefully gain back some of the 8+ minutes he lost the day before.

Landis wasn’t just battling the clocks, just as Armstong fought through more physical ailments than simple fatigue. After a severe crash in 2003 in which he fractured his hip joint, Landis developed hip osteonecrosis, a condition where blood flow to the bone is decreased.

This is basically bone death, and is extremely painful. Landis underwent surgery in 2004 to increase the bloodflow to his hip, but it was only a temporary fix. During the Tour, it was announced that Landis would undergo complete hip replacement once the Tour is complete, which would more than likely cease his pain, but also end his cycling career at the same time.

Painful arthritis due to bone death. Most people find it difficult to walk with this condition; Landis was on the verge of winning his first Tour de France with it.

The ride Landis hammered out during Stage 17 goes far beyond historic; it was mythical. Being touted by his peers as the most amazing performance they’ve ever seen, Landis charged up the first category climb the peleton hit and never looked back.

He distanced himself early on, usually a bad idea avoided by season riders as the pack tends to reel in the eager breakaways with little effort. But Landis didn’t get caught, he was doing the catching.

He started the day 8:08 and mired in 11th place. Left for dead by everyone watching the Tour. No chance.

He finished the day a mere 30 seconds off first-place Pereiro’s pace. Third place overall.

With nothing more than a time-trial in Stage 19 and the customary victory lap around Paris in Stage 20, Landis was once again the favorite to don the yellow jersey in the end. And rightfully so. He dominated the time trial, overcoming the 30-second gap and vaulting himself into first place with a lead over a minute.

This all but secured him his first Tour victory. Sunday’s stage to Paris was a celebration of an incredible tour, of new faces, and a man who, like his predecessor, overcame obstacles from both inside his own body and the Tour itself. It was a Tour for the ages.

In the end, Landis was on the podium, marking the eighth American victory in a row. Next year might prove to be another epic Tour, bringing about new first-time winners and provide the emergence of more incredible stories of perseverance in the face of adversity.

But for now, the spotlight belongs to Landis.