Something happens when you break a world record. You cease to become a representative for your country, and you become a role model for the world.

This morning Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the sixth time. He is the only person in history to have won more than five. Moreover, he has won six consecutive Tours, after having been diagnosed with cancer eight years ago and given less than a 50 percent chance of survival.

Although many interpreted Lance’s stage win yesterday to mean that Armstrong had his sixth Tour victory already under his belt, Armstrong remained true to nature, humble and in the moment, remarking only that he wouldn’t anticipate a win until he crossed the finish line.

After his official win today, Armstrong reiterated the importance of not getting ahead of oneself and of taking each moment as it comes:

“The last laps there, I thought, ‘Ah, I want to get this over with … But then I thought to myself, ‘You know, you might want to do a few more laps, because you may not ever do it again.’ And you can’t take it for granted.”

The structure of the Tour de France ought to preclude nationalistic attitudes due to its three-week length, abundance of award opportunities, and race strategy. The American national anthem, which played this morning at the awards ceremony in Paris, served more as an homage to Armstrong’s beginnings than as a tally mark in a competition between nations. The cycling team led by Armstrong has been sponsored by the United States Postal Service and is composed of cyclists from several countries. To win the race, Armstrong and his teammates banded together, forging across France as a unit and lending each other strength and support in order to complete the 3,395-kilometer race.

There have been some resentments noted toward Armstrong, but his consistent efforts toward raising popular awareness of sports, the race to cure cancer and good sportsmanship are matched by a growing momentum of international supporters and admirers.