2006年VOA标准英语-American Cyclist Landis Wins Tour de France

By Steve Schy
Washington
23 July 2006

An American has won cycling's most prestigious¹ event - the Tour de France - for the eighth straight year. Floyd Landis of the United States cruised to victory on the Champs-Elysees Sunday in Paris.

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2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis waves the US flag as he rides down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris following the final stage of the race
  
The 30-year-old Landis regained² the overall race leader's yellow jersey³ Saturday in the final time trial, when he built an insurmountable lead of 59 seconds.

Landis finished Sunday's 20th and final 154.5 kilometer stage (from Sceaux-Antony to Paris) eight seconds behind stage winner Thor Hushovd of Norway. The American closed out the race 57 seconds ahead of Oscar Pereiro of Spain, while Germany's Andreas Kloeden was third, one minute and 29 seconds behind Landis.

Landis gave his teammates the credit for the victory. "It's always clear which team is riding on the front, that they are doing work. But what you don't see is that guys are always keeping you out of the wind, or riding. The whole time the team is doing something. So I owe everything to them, man, they are champs," he said.

Landis said he was never certain he would win the Tour. "I said from the beginning that it was our goal to be here, but it was never sure. There were times when it was highly unlikely, I would say. But we stayed focused on the goal," he said.

Thor Hushovd completed the last stage in a time of three hours, 56 minutes and 52 seconds, edging Australians Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady in a group sprint⁴ to the line.

With the victory, Floyd Landis picked up where another American left off last year, when Lance Armstrong completed his seventh and final Tour triumph. Landis is the third American, joining Armstrong and three-time winner Greg LeMond - to win the Tour.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。