2000 Tour de France Winners

Updated August 28, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The 87th Tour de France (July 1-23, 2000) ran 20 stages plus a prologue, covering 2,276 miles starting in Futuroscope, France passing through the Alps and Pyrennes in France and small bits of Switzerland and Germany and finishing on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris.

American Lance Armstrong, 28, once again impressed the world, with his second straight Tour de France victory in a time of 92 hours, 33 minutes and 8 seconds. His time was six minutes, two seconds ahead of runner-up Jan Ullrich of Germany. Spain's Joseba Beloki took third, completing the course 10 minutes, four seconds behind Armstrong.

Armstrong took home $315,000 for the victory plus more in bonus money. In many ways this victory was even sweeter for Armstrong than last year's when several top riders including Ullrich were absent.

Less than three years before Armstrong rode down the Champs-Elysees for his first Tour de France victory in 1999, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The cancer then spread to his lungs and his brain and doctors gave him less than a 40 percent chance of survival. He underwent two operations and extensive chemotherapy and began his comeback in early 1998. He is only the second American to win cycling's premier event.