He and some of his teammates have already ridden the stages during training, as Armstrong has habitually done in becoming a Tour champion.

- Euro Hockey Tour champion and received €75,000 prize money.

Armstrong said that his motivation to repeat as Tour champion was his continuing inspiration to other cancer survivors.

Indurain resisted comparison to Tour champions of the past and said he "never felt superior to anyone".

In doing so, she became the youngest Tour champion in four years and the first qualifier to win a title in three years.

Indurain, the current Tour champion, was also a 21-year-old neo-pro in his debut in 1985.

At that time, Armstrong, the defending Tour champion, is training, not racing.

Armstrong, the two-time defending Tour champion, usually prefers to focus on the race rather than what he regards as a distraction.

After nearly two years of appeals, Pereiro was officially upgraded to Tour champion for 2006.

"I tried everything that was possible," said Ullrich, the Tour champion in 1997.