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team to a wholly unexpected victory. With no previous champion to battle Armstrong for the 1999 title, it appeared little more than a fluke. But when Armstrong defended against Ullrich in 2000, and then won again the next few years, it appeared that Ullrich's window of opportunity had passed. A former world champion, Armstrong had never been projected as a prototypical Tour rider. Once cancer had eroded much of his extraneous mass, though, his power-to-weight ratio more closely mirrored those of overall champions. With basically a new engine underneath him, Lance proceeded to devote his career in a singular focus on Tour victory - under the guidance of team director and former rider Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong eschewed the majority of the racing calendar to devote all his training and racing to arriving in France every July in optimal Tour fitness...

The gaunt Texan equalled Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain in 2003, winning over perennial nemesis Ullrich by only 61 seconds. It would prove to be the tightest of his margins of victory at the Tour de France. Then, the next year, Armstrong rode to his sixth consecutive victory in a new Discovery Channel uniform to claim sole ownership of the top spot in the Tour record book. Winning four stages in 2004, Armstrong regained his dominant form to win by nearly seven minutes. He would go on to win one final Tour the next season by nearly the same margin before retiring...

Lance Armstrong is the cyclist who currently holds the record for the most victories in the Tour de France with seven. Armstrong also holds the record for most consecutive victories, claiming all the Tour titles to be offered between 1999 and 2005. This illustrious record has changed hands several times throughout the years, but one thing remains certain: no matter who the champion may be at any given time, the Tour de France will always feature exciting action as riders strive for one title. Someday another may come along to challenge Armstrong's dominance... but the greatest Tour champions must have luck as well as skill and determination on their side to achieve success...

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