6-time Tour de France champ reinvigorates American interest in cycling

　　When executives at the Trek Bicycle Corp. signed a contract with Lance Armstrong in 1998, they were betting the public would see the cyclist recovering from testicular cancer as a human interest story.

　　Seven years later, Armstrong is still riding a Trek manufactured in this southern Wisconsin town as he competes for his seventh straight — and last — Tour de France victory this week.

　　Armstrong's prowess and personal story have reinvigorated American interest in cycling, and no company has felt the impact more than Trek, the privately held company that is the top U.S. manufacturer of bikes.