LANCE Armstrong sealed a seventh successive Tour de France victory amid chaotic scenes at the finish in Paris. The Texan, riding his last-ever race, narrowly avoided a nasty crash moments before reaching the Champs Elysees. But he survived the scare to finish safely four minutes clear of Ivan Basso overall with Jan Ullrich in third spot. Alexandre Vinokourov savoured stage glory, while Thor Hushovd secured the green jersey and Mickael Rasmussen was crowned King of the Mountains. But the day belonged to Armstrong, who rode into retirement with a record seventh win in cycling's most prestigious event. The 33-year-old overcame life-threatening cancer before landing his first Tour de France victory in 1999. And in the following years, he beat the likes of Marco Pantani, Joseba Beloki, Basso and rival-in- chief Ullrich to retain his title time and again. Despite speculation that he might struggle to keep focused in his final year of competition, Armstrong was never troubled in 2005. He took a minute out of Ullrich on the opening day and assumed absolute control of proceedings on stage 10 -- a brutal Alpine slog to Courchevel -- before signing off with a dominant time-trial win on the penultimate stage. Sunday's traditional champagne leg to Paris threatened to turn sour when Armstrong's Discovery Team henchman George Hincapie slid off his bike on rain-swept roads. But Armstrong managed to put out his right foot to avoid tumbling into his compatriot. And organisers responded by taking the unusual step of stopping the race clock after the first of eight laps through the streets of Paris because of the poor weather. This made Armstrong's victory safe and looked likely to leave the sprinters with a hair-raising dash to stage glory. But Vinokourov -- one of the most aggressive riders of the Tour -- cheated the fast- finishers with a well-timed move 2km out to claim a memorable win and leapfrog Levi Leipheimer into fifth place overall. Speaking from the podium after his farewell triumph, Armstrong paid tribute to his closest rivals and his team. "I couldn't have done this without the team behind me -- I owe them everything," said the American. "Ullrich is a special rival and a special person and Basso is almost too good of a friend to race -- he may be the future of the Tour." Armstrong ended with an appeal to cycling's critics in an era dogged by drugs controversies. "You should believe in these people [the cyclists]. There are no secrets. This is a hard Tour and hard work wins it. Vive Le Tour." Armstrong's victories as a professional cyclist will always be remembered. Physiological testing shows that Armstrong was born with genetics that made his body nearly perfectly suited to becoming a Tour de France-winning engine. But that engine would be nothing without Armstrong's seemingly limitless ambition and drive. These are the qualities that catapulted Armstrong to athletic superstardom. There have been more complete cyclists than Armstrong like Eddy Merckx, who was dominant in both grand Tours and the classics. But Armstrong's greatest achievement as an athlete and as a human being has been to give the world the gift of hope. When Armstrong was stricken with testicular cancer, he battled the disease the same way he raced bikes. He survived, returned to cycling, and embraced his survival of the killer disease as a source of personal and professional empowerment. His fight with cancer and his return to cycling to win the Tour de France in 1999 resonated far beyond the boundaries of his sport. If Armstrong had faced death and conquered such great odds to survive and come back to win the Tour de France, then who were we to give up in the face of life's challenges? Armstrong made a point of reaching out to cancer survivors and drawing attention to the disease with his philanthropic efforts, but his message of hope transcended age, gender, class, race and the disease that almost killed him. It spoke to everyone. The yellow Livestrong bracelet Armstrong introduced last year to raise awareness for his cancer foundation has become synonymous with this message of hope. More than 50 million people around the world now wear Livestrong bracelets. The popularity of Armstrong and the omnipresence of the Livestrong bracelets may fade once he steps out of the sporting spotlight. His achievements may one day be surpassed. But whatever happens, Armstrong's story will continue to inspire people to fight harder to live life to the fullest and to never give up in the face of adversity. Hope will be his legacy. He held his yellow cap over his heart as the American anthem played, and his twin 3-year-old daughters, Grace and Isabelle, wore matching yellow dresses. "Vive le Tour! Forever," Armstrong said. Vive Lance, the once but not future champion. Armstrong came into this Tour saying he had a dual objective -- winning the race and the hearts of French fans and he did. It was the end of Armstrong's amazing career, and in retiring a winner he achieved a rare feat in sports -- going out on top. He said his decision was final and that he walks away with no regrets. "I'm finished," Armstrong told a motorcycle- borne TV reporter as he rode a victory lap of the Champs Elysees, waving to the crowds and accompanied by another rider waving the Stars and Stripes. President Bush called to congratulate his fellow Texan for "a great triumph of the human spirit," saying the victory was "a testament not only to your athletic talent, but to your courage." Armstrong's five-year-old son, Luke, delivered a different message. "Daddy, can we go home and play?" the boy whispered to him as he stepped off the podium. Armstrong choked up on the podium and rock star girlfriend Sheryl Crow, wearing a yellow halter top, cried during the ceremony. "This is the way he wanted to finish his career, so it's very emotional," she said. Armstrong set the record last year with his sixth win -- one more than Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgium's Merckx and Spaniard Miguel Indurain -- and No 7 confirmed him as one of the greatest cyclists ever. Armstrong mentioned Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and Andre Agassi as personal inspirations. "Those are guys that you look up to you, guys that have been at the top of their game for a long time," he said.
