PAU, France, 23 July 2003 — If Lance Armstrong wins a record-equaling fifth Tour de France in Paris on Sunday, the American will have done it the hard way.

As the other five-times winners have discovered before him the last one is the most difficult.

Armstrong crushed his rivals in his four previous wins, but this year has been a different story. He has suffered sickness before the prologue, crashed twice, experienced suffocating heat, had personal worries, was challenged like never before and is even being sued for defamation in a Tour of “too many problems” as he put it himself.

“I just wish that the problems will stop because it’s been a very hard crisis-filled Tour,” he said after his emphatic stage victory in Luz-Ardiden, which gave him a 1:07 lead over German Jan Ullrich with five stages remaining.

Nervous and frustrated for most of the first two weeks, Armstrong proved the courage is still there when he picked himself up off the tarmac to win Monday’s stage.

But his traumatic Tour echoes that which the previous five-time experienced before him.

Jacques Anquetil became the first rider to win five Tours in 1964, but the Frenchman came very close to losing the last one when he found himself only 14 seconds ahead of archrival Raymond Poulidor after a fierce fight in the Puy de Dome climb.

In similar fashion, Armstrong had a meager 15 seconds lead over Ullrich before his recovery in Luz-Ardiden.

Anquetil finally beat his compatriot by 55 seconds in the very last time trial of the Tour, something Armstrong will need to do if he wants to finally quell Ullrich’s ferocious challenge in Saturday’s timed test.

In striking similarity with the current Tour, Poulidor finished second behind three different riders, just like Ullrich, who was runner-up to Bjarne Riis in 1996, to Marco Pantani in 1998 and to Armstrong twice in 2000 and 2001.

Belgian Eddy Merckx, arguably the best rider in cycling history, also nearly lost the Tour to an evergreen Poulidor in 1974, when he was dropped in the Pla d’Adet climb and found himself trailing the Frenchman until the last week. Merckx eventually attacked in the penultimate stage to drop Poulidor and clinch his fifth Tour.

In 1985, taking advantage of the withdrawal of defending champion Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault was injured in a crash in St Etienne and was challenged throughout by American team mate Greg LeMond.

LeMond ended up helping Hinault claim his fifth Tour by less than two minutes, in return for being supported by his team mate in his 1986 Tour victory.

Spaniard Miguel Indurain had an easier ride and was rarely threatened in his five Tour wins. But he had a fright in his fifth winning Tour in 1995, when he was tested by Spanish team ONCE and found himself nine minutes adrift in a stage between St. Etienne and Mende before his teammates brought him back.

Motivated Ullrich Promises More Attacks

Germany’s Jan Ullrich, trailing Tour de France leader Lance Armstrong by 67 seconds, admits the American is now clear favourite to land a record-equaling fifth title, but has vowed to keep fighting.

“To sum up the situation, let’s say that Lance Armstrong should win the Tour de France and that I could do it,” he said, emphasising his words carefully.

“Everything remains possible and I’m still very motivated about going for final victory. I will do everything I can to attack him as there is only one minute between us,” he added in his hotel in Pau during the second rest day.

Humbled by Ullrich in the first time trial in Cap Decouverte last week, Armstrong struck back with a brilliant win in Luz-Ardiden before talking of all the problems he has encountered since the start of the Tour.