Well, well, there’s a sight you don’t see every day at the Tour de France: Lance Armstrong on the podium in Paris without—hold the presses—the race winner’s garish yellow jersey on his back.
Third. Not a result, in pure sporting terms, that ranks up there with the seven consecutive times he claimed the victor’s laurels on the crowd-lined Champs-Elysees, framed by the Arc de Triomphe in the background.
But how much more human.
Armstrong suffered on this Tour, the pain and effort etched into his craggy face. Like a wily fox, he used years of accumulated race smarts to compensate for what his 37-year-old body has lost in speed and resilience; a few seconds saved here, a few more clawed back there…Â Details