Merckx could have cruised to victory with after building up an insurmountable eight-minute lead by the 17th stage, but he decides to crush the competition by breaking away with 87 miles to go.
He thus earns his nickname \"Cannibal\" for his penchant for going for the jugular. He also becomes the first Tour rider to win the overall winner's yellow jersey, the climber's polka-dotted jersey and the sprinter's green jersey.
No rider has ever since won that trifecta.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","1989: LeMond's amazing ride","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060724/060724_lemond_1989_app.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Remy De La Mauviniere", "AP", "273", "190", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "On the final day, a 15-mile individual time trial, American Greg LeMond has to overcome a 50-second deficit to leader Laurent Fignon of France.
It seems impossible, but LeMond -- two years after nearly bleeding to death in a hunting accident -- utilizes new aerodynamic handlebars and teardrop-shaped helmet to close the gap and win by a few seconds for his second career Tour victory.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","1995: Death on the mountain","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/NBCSports/Sections/Personal/Chiappetta%2C%20Mike/Other/TourDeFrance/MotorolaMomentSilence.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Peter Dejong", "ASSOCIATED PRESS", "273", "331", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "1992 Summer Olympics gold medalist Fabio Casartelli of Italy dies in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet during the 15th stage.
Casartelli was a rider for Team Motorola, which included a young Lance Armstrong.
The following day, Team Motorola crosses the finish line together in honor of their fallen teammate while the peloton hangs back.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","1995: Indurain's drive for 5","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Interactives/Projects/tour_france/040622_indurain_tourapp.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Peter Dejong", "AP", "273", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "Miguel Indurain of Spain becomes the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five straight years.
Indurain was a physically superior athlete, with a resting heart rate that at times dipped to as low as 29 beats per minute, compared to an average human's BPM of 60-80.
His blood circulation also was able to circulate seven liters of oxygen per minute, compared to the average of 3-4.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","1998: The Festina Scandal","Top French cyclist Richard Virenque, foreground, was a member of the Festina team expelled from the 1998 Tour.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/NBCSports/Sections/Personal/Chiappetta%2C%20Mike/Other/TourDeFrance/Festina.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Guy Bios", "ASSOCIATED PRESS", "273", "349", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "Italian Marco Pantani wins the Tour three years after breaking a leg, but it was the 'Festina Affair' scandal that grabs the headlines.
Prior to the race, performance-enhancing drugs are found in a Festina team car on the French/Belgian border.
The team is booted from the race after team director Bruno Roussel confesses to systematic doping of his riders.
Tour riders later stage two sit-down strikes because of continued police investigations.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","1999: Lance becomes legend","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/NBCSports/Sections/Personal/Chiappetta%2C%20Mike/Other/TourDeFrance/LanceWins99.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Laurent Rebours", "ASSOCIATED PRESS", "273", "277", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong wins his first of seven straight Tours three years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer and being given a 50-50 chance of survival.
\"This is an awesome day. This is beyond belief,\" Armstrong says after the race.
\"I hope it sends out a fantastic message to all survivors around the world. We can return to what we were before -- and even better.\"";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","2001: Armstrong's 'the look'","Lance Armstrong speeds past Jan Ullrich during the 17th stage of the Tour de France on July 26, 2001.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/NBCSports/Sections/Personal/Chiappetta%2C%20Mike/Other/TourDeFrance/LanceUlrich.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Laurent Rebours", "ASSOCIATED PRESS", "273", "338", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "After faking fatigue heading to the infamous l'Alpe d'Huez, Lance Armstrong blows past Germany's Jan Ullrich on the mountain climb.
After passing Ullrich, Armstrong looks back at his rival and gives him what has come to be known as \"The Look\" -- Armstrong's competitive way of letting Ullrich know who was boss.
Armstrong crushes Ullrich on the climb and goes on to win his third straight Tour.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","2006: Rise, and fall, of Landis","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060720/060720_landis_vmed_9a.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Alessandro Trovati", "AP", "273", "193", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_tourmoments[i-1].body = "American Floyd Landis delivers perhaps the most roller-coaster Tour performance ever.
He loses his overall lead in an opponent's breakaway in Stage 13, regains it in Stage 15 on l'Alpe d'Huez, and then occurs two stages which will be remembered forever.
On the 16th stage, Landis suffers a complete meltdown on the final ascent up La Toussuire and lost 10 minutes and the overall leader.
The following day, however, Landis was a completely different rider. He makes a 72-mile breakaway in the 17th stage, which included five mountain climbs, to win the stage by six minutes and move to within 30 seconds of leader Oscar Pereiro.
In the 19th stage's individual time trial, Landis regains the lead from Pereiro and goes on to win the Tour.
But he is stripped of the title when he tests positive for high levels of testosterone during his epic stage 17, and Pereiro is awarded the title as Tour champion.
All this after a prerace scandal resulted in the ejections of favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso over doping suspicions.";
spt_tourmoments[i++] = new Array("","","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
// END editorial data