James Oberstar: “I rise to join in commending Lance Armstrong on his 6th consecutive victory in the Tour de France. I know that the…”

“I rise to join in commending Lance Armstrong on his 6th consecutive victory in the Tour de France. I know that the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) recognizes the extraordinary accomplishment that winning the Tour de France represents. This is the world's greatest athletic endurance contest. No comparison. It would be like compressing the National Football League's 16 games into 3 weeks, a game a day. I do not think there are any who could sustain the enormous output of energy required by even the least of the 192 riders who begin each year's Tour de France. To win a stage is a great accomplishment. To win the tour is extraordinary. Only five have won five tours. Only two have won five tours consecutively. And only one has won the Tour de France six times consecutively, and that is our America's Lance Armstrong. Over 13 million people this year watched in person the Tour de France. It is the greatest citizens sporting event. No one pays to be on the sidelines, to be in attendance at the Tour de France. There are no tickets. There is no reserved seating. There is no special place. There is no charge. And yet a million people watched the time trial on Alpe d'Huez in which the riders in 9½ miles climb 5,000 feet with 21 switchbacks in a race against the clock and which is in itself probably the most challenging sports event in the history of athletics.”