Only with the Tour de France title finally secured during the final stage on the cobbled Champs-Elys Dees, Lance Armstrong celebrated by raising a champagne flute with a loud "Cheers!" , illness, fierce rivals and simple bad luck, the Texan won his toughest but sweetest Tour on Sunday, a fifth consecutive record that places him among the greatest cyclists ever. Unlike previous years, when he won by a wide margin, the grueling 23-day, 2,125-mile clockwise journey around France pushed Armstrong to the limit. "Before the Tour started I was very confident of winning. But before next year's Tour, I won't be so confident," he said. Armstrong joined Spaniard Miguel Indurain as the only riders to win cycling's most brutal and prestigious race five consecutive times - a record Armstrong intends to break in 2004. King de LanceArmstrongA look at Lance Armstrong's Tour de France career: TOUR VICTORIES: Five consecutive from 1999 to 2003, tying the record for consecutive victories set by Miguel Indurain of Spain (1991-95). Three others have won five Tours, but not in a row: Jacques Anquetil of France (1957, 1961-64), Eddy Merckx of Belgium (1969-72, 1974) and Bernard Hinault of France (1978-79, 1981-82). , 1985). STAGE VICTORIES: 16 -- one each in 1993, 1995, 2000, 2003; four each in 1999, 2001, 2002. His U.S. Postal Service team also won a time trial together this year. Merckx won a record 34 stages, Hinault 28, Anquetil 16 and Indurain 12. WINNING MARGINS: Beat Alex Zulle of Switzerland by 7 minutes 37 seconds in 1999, Jan Ullrich of Germany by 6:02 in 2000, Ullrich by 6: 44 in 2001, Joseba Beloki of Spain with 7:17 in 2002 and Ullrich with 1:01 this year. The largest gap between winner and runner-up in the history of the race is nearly 3 hours - 2:59:21 to be exact - set by Frenchman Maurice Garin in the first Tour of 1903. The smallest margin is 8 seconds , in Greg LeMond's victory over Laurent Fignon in 1989.AGE: 31; Armstrong will turn 32 in September and plans to compete in the 2004 Tour. Since 1953, seven riders aged 31 or older have won. The oldest was Firmin Lambot of Belgium, aged 36 in 1922. Of the other five-time champions, only Indurain won at 31 – and that was the Spaniard's age for his final victory. PARTICIPATIONS: This was Armstrong's ninth Tour de France. Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands ran the fastest, 16.