Floyd wins it!

American Landis Wins Tour De France

The highs and lows of Floyd Landis' nail-biter of a bike race ended without a hitch Sunday as he won the Tour de France and kept cycling's most prestigious title in American hands for the eighth straight year.

The 30-year-old Landis, pedaling with an injured hip, cruised to victory on the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees, a day after regaining the leader's yellow jersey and building an insurmountable lead in the final time trial.

"I kept fighting, never stopped believing," Landis said, shortly after he received the winner's yellow jersey on the podium, joined by his daughter, Ryan.

Landis picked up where another American left off last year, when Lance Armstrong completed his seventh and final Tour triumph. With the victory, Landis becomes the third American — joining Armstrong and three-time winner Greg LeMond — to win the Tour.

Already his amazing effort in the 17th stage is being declared perhaps the finest individual effort in the Tour's history. He broke away from the peloton and made what amounted to a 120 km sprint up five climbs, going from 11 minutes back to being just 30 seconds out. He regained the Maillot jaune the next day.

Y&'all can keep the World Cup, America owns le Tour!

Heatwave update: 99 degrees at 1103hrs, 35% humidity, heat index is 103.