III 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 222 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 28, 2005 Mrs. Hutchison (for herself, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Martinez, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Honoring the victories of Team Discovery and American cyclists Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie in the 2005 Tour de France.

Whereas Team Discovery included Lance Armstrong of Texas and George Hincapie of South Carolina from the United States, José Luis Rubiera, Manuel Beltran, and Benjamin Noval from Spain, Pavel Padrnos from the Czech Republic, José Azevedo from Portugal, Paolo Savoldelli from Italy, and Yaroslav Popovych from Ukraine; Whereas Team Discovery won the 2005 Tour de France under the leadership of Lance Armstrong, who rode to victory by completing the 2,232-mile, 21-stage course in 86 hours, 15 minutes, and 2 seconds, finishing 4 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor; Whereas, by winning the Tour de France on July 24, 2005, Lance Armstrong became the only competitor in the history of the Tour de France to win cycling's most prestigious race in 7 consecutive years; Whereas George Hincapie rode stage 15, which was 127.4 miles long and included 1 above category climb, 4 category 1 climbs, and 1 category 2 climb, for a total of 33.5 miles of climbing at an average gradient of 7.96 percent; Whereas stage 15 was considered the hardest stage of the 2005 Tour de France and the victory of George Hincapie atop Pla d’Adet marks his first Tour de France stage victory; Whereas George Hincapie is only the 8th competitor from the United States to win a stage in the Tour de France; Whereas George Hincapie has participated in the Tour de France 10 times and is the only teammate to assist Lance Armstrong in each of his Tour de France victories; Whereas Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie displayed incredible perseverance, determination, and leadership over 7 years with their teammates in prevailing over the mountainous terrain of the Alps and Pyrenees and in overcoming crashes, illness, hard-charging rivals, and driving rain on the way to winning the premier cycling event in the world; Whereas, in 1996, Lance Armstrong defeated choriocarcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer that had spread throughout his abdomen, lungs, and brain, and has remained cancer-free since treatment for the disease; Whereas Lance Armstrong is the 1st cancer survivor to win the Tour de France; and Whereas the accomplishments of Team Discovery have made the team an inspiration to millions of people around the world: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)honors— (A)the victory of Team Discovery in the 2005 Tour de France; (B)professional cyclist Lance Armstrong for his record 7th consecutive Tour de France victory; and (C)professional cyclist George Hincapie for his 1st Tour de France stage victory; and (2)commends Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie for being pioneers of the sport of cycling in the United States.