Lance on the stage today: "Oh man, it was nutty as people could see. I mean, the weather was epic, the wind was epic. I don't think I've ever been that nervous before a bike race. I was nervous because of not such an advantage on Jan, and also the weather. You know, the difference between winning and losing with a crash is just so fine, so I tried to take it easy. When I heard he crashed, then I basically just sat up and said 'I am not taking any risks.'"

Lance on his strategy on the course today: "Johan told me after a kilometer-and-a-half that I'd lost six seconds, and then I brought it back to three, and then two, and then even, and then went up by six or seven or eight or ten seconds. Then at that point I just went, 'I'll just go my pace.' Then I heard he [Ullrich] crashed, and from then on it was just a little tour of Nantes."

Lance on win number five: "This has been a very hard Tour for me, for a lot of reasons, some of which people know, some of which people don't know. It's just been very tough, and I'm glad it's over. Almost over."

Lance on comparisons to the all-time Tour greats: "Well, let's get through tomorrow, but if I can join a club like that, after such a difficult year, and a difficult Tour, it'll be sweet. It'll be a lot sweeter than a six or seven minute victory."

Lance on tonight's menu: "I'm definitely having beer. I don't know about ice cream, but you all know how much I like beer. I told the boys last night, 'If I make it through tomorrow, we're having beers tomorrow night.' So beers are on me."