Lance Armstrong is done, well, after this Tour de France, where he is going to see if he can turn No. 6 to No. 7.

Forgive me if my lack of excitement is hidden by my, well, lack of excitement.

If you want me to praise Armstrong for his work ethic, then I'll praise him for his work ethic.

If you want me to call him the greatest cyclist of all time, I'll tell you he's the greatest cyclist of all time. But if you think he's one of the greatest athletes of all time, then you must have a blast living next to King Friday in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Lance Armstrong has done a phenomenal job at beating cancer. He has done a phenomenal job making yellow the most popular color around.

He has even done a phenomenal job separating from his wife and soaking up the sun with Sheryl Crow, but he is not one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Cycling is not a sport that demands you to work with others to attain success. Lance can peddle until his yellow jacket falls off, but he has to concentrate only on making himself better and no one else.

In team sports you not only have to worry about yourself but also concern yourself with your teammates in order to be labeled a winner and an outstanding athlete.

Michael Jordan not only had to worry about beating his multiple defenders, but he was able to make players around him better. Where would Scottie Pippen be without Michael Jordan? He would not be on the list of the NBA's 50 greatest players.

Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One," has a hold on the NHL record book tighter than Rick Majerus in a pair of Wranglers. What made Gretzky so special was his ability to not only score goals but to also set others up for a goal.

Pretty remarkable feat for someone to hold the NHL scoring and assists record, but that's what you do if you're a great athlete. You make others around you better.

I'm not trying to downplay what Armstrong has done. It's a remarkable accomplishment to do anything better than anyone for six consecutive years, but he only had to worry about himself. He didn't have to push the Jud Buechler's of the world harder in practice to achieve the ultimate success in his sport.

Armstrong's ability to dominate the cycling world puts him on the "peddle-peddle" pedestal atop the cycling mountain, but that spot is still nine gondola rides away from the Mt. Rushmore of outstanding athletes.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 21 2005.