He made his move in the rugged mountains of the Pyrenees and finished in triumph in the elegance of the Champs Elysees.
Jan Ullrich, his victory in this grueling three-week trek not in doubt, won the Tour de France on Sunday, the first German to capture cycling's showcase race since it began in 1903."I'll never forget this day my entire life," he said. "A dream from my youth was fulfilled."
Before several hundred thousand cheering fans on a bright, sunny day, Ullrich rode into Paris with the leader's yellow jersey to finish the 21-stage, 2,455-mile race.
He ended 39th for the day, the same time as the rest of the pack, but the real work had been done well before
"Unbelievable," Ullrich said. "I'm overjoyed because I was afraid of crashing up to the last meter."
Ullrich's fans, including his mother Marianne, traveled to Paris and waved banners and German flags on the Champs Elysees. The German national anthem was played as Ullrich moved up a step on the podium from last year when he finished second.
And in his Black Forest hometown of Merdingen, the party was rolling and the free beer flowing.
In only his second Tour de France, Ullrich finished 9 minutes, 9 seconds ahead of Richard Virenque of France, the largest victory margin since Laurent Fignon won by 10:32 in 1984.
The 23-year-old German is the eighth youngest winner, younger than five-time winners Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain when they won the first time. The late Jacques Anquetil, another five-time champion, was only a month younger than Ullrich.
Ullrich had been wearing the leader's yellow jersey since the 10th stage of the race, taking over the lead on the second day in the Pyrenees mountains in the south of France.
Ullrich, born in the former East Germany, was the 1993 world amateur road champion. He moved to Merdingen, a small town near the French border, in 1994 after turning pro.
In Merdingen, television coverage of the final day of the race was shown on a big screen during the local club's soccer game.
Ullrich, who earned $360,000 for the victory, said he will cherish two memories in particular.
"The first was the victory in the Pyrenees, the second was putting on the yellow jersey for the first time," he said.
In 1996 Ullrich was second by a little more than a minute to Telekom teammate Bjarne Riis, who finished seventh this year. This time, Riis and the other Telekom team rode to protect Ullrich's lead.
"Nobody can win the Tour without a strong team. We were a real team, everyone sacrificed himself for the others," Ullrich said. "That's the only way such a victory is possible."
Nicola Minali won the final stage, a largely ceremonial ride of 99 miles that started on Main Street in Disneyland Paris and ended on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
The race finished with 10 circuits from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde. A streaker leapt onto the road on the final straightaway but was quickly removed by police.
Minali won the sprint ahead of Erik Zabel, Ullrich's teammate who had won three previous sprint finishes. Henk Vogels of Australia was third.
All nine riders finished for the U.S. Postal Service team, which was competing in the race for the first time. It was only the second American team invited to participate.
Ullrich seemed the only constant factor in this year's Tour de France, a race marked by falls, controversial sprints and injury withdrawals.
He was considered among the top three favorites when the race started July 5 in Rouen. Ullrich stayed close while Riis faded in the Pyrenees. With his senior teammate out of contention, Ullrich was allowed to go for the lead and did so on the second day in the Pyrenees.
He cemented that with a convincing victory in the first time trial, winning by more than three minutes. He stayed close to Virenque in the Alps, even gaining another 40 seconds at one stage.
Early on, Tony Rominger of Switzerland and Yevgeny Berzin of Russia were eliminated with broken collarbones. Falls also played a part in the withdrawal of Alex Zuelle of Switzerland.
Three stages went to riders who didn't finish first. Controversial sprint finishes resulted in Zabel, Sergi Outschakov and Bart Voskamp being disqualified from the victories. Zabel won three other stages.
Djamolidin Abdoujaparov of Uzbekistan tested positive for drugs and was ejected after the sixth stage in which Belgium's Tom Steels was disqualified for throwing a water bottle during the final sprint.