Armstrong wins fourth straight Tour

American Lance Armstrong won his fourth consecutive Tour de France on Sunday after the 20th and final stage from Melun to Paris was won in dramatic fashion by Australian Robbie McEwen.

Armstrong, 30, becomes only the fifth rider in the Tour's 99-year history to have won it at least four times, after Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain - all five-time winners.

The US Postal ace finished the three-week race with a convincing 7min 17sec lead over Spaniard Joseba Beloki, second this year after finishing third in 2000 and 2001.

Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas finished third overall at 8:17 adrift of Armstrong who, after taking control of the race on the 11th stage, never once gave up the yellow jersey.

On a day set to stage the battle for the points competition, McEwen came good, finishing off the 10 laps of the Champs Elysees ahead of compatriot Baden Cooke and Frenchman Damien Nazon to keep hold of the green jesrey he took from Erik Zabel on the 13th stage at Beziers.

"It's a magnificent day and my thanks go out to the team mechanics, the soigneurs, the team manager - everybody.

"Winning two stages and the green jersey, I can't believe it," said McEwen whose pre-race objective at the start was just to win a stage.

In the end he won two, and ended Erik Zabel's six-year domination of the green jersey on a day when only one point seperated the two sprinters and where everything was still left to play for.