New York Welcomes Tour de France Champ Armstrong

02 August 2001

New York City and the U.S. Postal Service have delivered a rousing welcome to triple Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong, as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani declared Thursday Lance Armstrong Day in the (so-called) Big Apple. Armstrong, who completed his third straight Tour de France victory as a member of the U.S. Postal Service team Sunday, was honored in a ceremony on the steps of Manhattan's main post office branch. Armstrong has overcome testicular cancer to become the number-one cyclist in the world, and Giuliani called him an inspiration to Americans.

Armstrong said he owed the postal service a debt of gratitude. He said they were the only team willing to support him in 1998, when no one else would. In his words, "They were there for me when I was coming back. I can't thank them enough."