The herculean efforts of this man are well watched and well known. So there is no reason to post about Lance Armstrong except to join the chorus of admirers in recognizing one of America’s greatest life stories (and we do have a great number of them). To go from dealing with cancer and fight back to win a world record 7 wins at the Tour de France is a great example of the spirit and will of humankind. Yesterday Lance Armstrong put on a show that simply unders scores his achievements.

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) – As if Lance Armstrong had anything left to prove, as if his crowning achievement really needed an emphatic stamp, cycling’s greatest champion gave his best performance Saturday – claiming the stage win he lacked and all but guaranteeing a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory.

Armstrong swept away any notion that this Tour would be somehow incomplete without winning a stage, pouring on speed at the end of Saturday’s time trial to round out his unparalleled career. Unlike his previous six winning Tours, the American had not won an individual stage – until Saturday’s 20th.

He beat stage runner-up Jan Ullrich by 23 seconds and extended his already comfortable overall race lead to 4:40 over Ivan Basso of Italy, setting him up for a victory ride on the last leg into Paris on Sunday, when the 33-year-old will retire.

Riding with an aerodynamic bike, helmet and suit to reduce wind drag and save seconds, Armstrong made easy work of the winding, hilly and crowd-lined 34.5-mile route that looped north of Saint-Etienne in central France.

As race leader, Armstrong set out last of the 155 riders, his legs whirring, the yellow jersey on his back. He trailed Basso at the first time-check, but was leading at the second and stayed ahead from that point.

“Quite honestly, I wasn’t absolutely sure I could do it,” Armstrong said. “I thought Jan would be strong, and then when I got to the first check I saw that Ivan was seven seconds up and I thought ‘Oh boy, this could be an interesting day.'”

“I ended up turning things around and winning,” he said. “So, pleasant surprise.”

He even overtook Denmark’s Mickael Rasmussen, who had started out six minutes before him but had a disastrous ride on the tricky and technical route’s sharp bends, fast downhills and tiring uphills.

“It’s nice to finish your career on a high note,” said Armstrong. “As a sportsman, I wanted to go out on top.”

Armstrong’s time was 1 hour, 11 minutes and 46 seconds, for an average speed of 46.4 kilometers (28.8 miles) per hour. His three children were at the finish to see him climb onto the podium and don another race leader’s yellow jersey – the 82nd of his career.

All I can say is that his is a life well lived.