[Nguyen:] Well, he pedaled hard for a place in history. Now a prince of cycling has earned a crowning achievement. Lance Armstrong is savoring his seventh straight win in the Tour De France. He won in Paris yesterday in his final race before retiring. But what's next? Well, CNN's Carol Lin pondered the possibilities with Lance's mom.
[Carol Lin, Cnn Correspondent/anchor:] ... when Lance crossed the finish line...
[Linda Armstrong Kelly, Lance Armstrong's Mother:] I have to tell you it was an extremely emotional time for me. And leading up to it, it was emotional but I never realized how it would be when he finished that line. And just thinking that that's his last race. Not to mention the fact that he's obviously won the yellow jersey seventh time in the row. Made history. I mean, all of those emotions were going in my mind and all over me.
[Lin:] Yes, what is the first thing that you said to him when you got a chance to talk to him?
[Kelly:] I went down, and it was so neat when he finally got in. And they brought him back. And the first thing I did is I walked up to him and I said, "Son, I'm so proud of you."
[Lin:] And what did he say back?
[Kelly:] He said, "Thanks, Mom." He's such a good boy.
[Lin:] Oh. What is your boy going to do next?
[Kelly:] I think the future is extremely bright for him. No. 1, he's got a lot more time to spend with his children. And that is the No. 1 reason he's doing this. I mean, he's going to get to attend those soccer games and those swim meets and all those wonderful things that he did with me and that I did with him.
[Lin:] Right.
[Kelly:] So, those were great memories for him. And aside from that, family being first, is that he will definitely be more involved than, if you could imagine, than what he is already with the foundation and giving back to the cause of cancer.
[Lin:] Right, right. I mean, he's going a lot of work to encourage people to participate in clinical trials. And does that translate, though, into a different kind of role? I mean, do we see the possibility of a Senator Lance Armstrong, President Lance Armstrong?
[Kelly:] Well, you will see on the tapes that John Kerry was actually attending in the area that we were sitting, and he's just a huge fan of Lance's. And he told me, he says, "Now, Linda, if Lance ever decides to get into politics, have him talk to me."
[Lin:] I bet. Is he a Republican or a Democrat?
[Kelly:] You know, I'm not sure which party he is. Regardless and that was a beautiful thing about John Kerry. Regardless of his party, I you know, have been doing this. I know a lot of people. And I thought that was nice of him, actually.
[Lin:] What about marriage? Maybe some more kids?
[Kelly:] I think that certainly that's not out of the question. And...
[Lin:] Wait, wait. Are you saying that Lance and...
[Kelly:] No, no, no, no, no. You're not hearing anything from his mom, because I don't know, but believe me, if I do know you'll be the first to know.
[Lin:] OK. We're going to count on it. Linda, you must be so proud of your boy.
[Kelly:] It's wonderful.
[Lin:] You did well, a role model for mothers everywhere. Linda Armstrong Kelly, congratulations. And please give our best to your son.
[Kelly:] Thank you.
[Nguyen:] All right. So, was it super human strength or super will and determination? Now that Lance Armstrong has won his seventh Tour De France millions are asking how does he do it? In today's "Daily Dose," senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta tackles that question.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Correspondent:] He's possibly the best endurance athlete in the world. Most of us know Lance Armstrong's name, but few know how he does it. It all starts with his genes.
[Gupta:] Edward Coyle is director of the human performance lab at the University of Texas in Austin. World record holders, Olympic medalists and promising elite athletes all come here to increase their performance. At the young age of 21, Lance Armstrong was one of them. Coyle evaluated his physiology regularly for seven years.
[Edward Coyle, Director Of Human Performance Lab, University Of Texas At Austin:] We found that, even at a young age, because of his intense training, he had a big engine, a big heart, and was able to consume large amounts of oxygen. Probably less than one percent of the population would have as much of a genetic head start as Armstrong has.
[Gupta:] Lance Armstrong's physiology characteristics are nothing short of astounding. His heart, it can pump nine gallons of blood per minute, working at its hardest, compared to only five gallons per minute for the average person. In one minute of maximum exertion, Armstrong's heart can beat twice that of a normal person. His lungs, he gets almost double the amount of oxygen out of every breath that a healthy 20-year-old would. Everyone takes in the same breath, but Armstrong uses his two times more efficiently. He also has more red blood cells to deliver oxygen to his body, meaning he can breathe better at higher altitudes. And that's a key in the treacherous Pyrenees and Alps mountains along the route of the Tour De France. His muscles, Lance's muscles produce less lactic acid than most people, which means his muscles can go longer and harder without major fatigue.
[Coyle:] An average person when going to exhaustion would have to stay stopped or wouldn't be able to move for, you know, for 10, 15 minutes. Well, Armstrong is able to recover within just a couple of minutes, within one or two, and then go right back up to maximum. You know, that's why you'll see him repeatedly trying to break away and then eventually succeeding.
[Gupta:] While Lance may have the genetics and conditioning of a world class athlete, he has also had cancer lingering in his genes. He was diagnosed with the disease before ever winning the Tour De France.
[Coyle:] Lance visited the laboratory eight months after finishing chemo, and, essentially, we found nothing wrong with his body. And that really helped him in giving him the confidence that he could pick up right where he left off.
[Gupta:] All of this can ultimately make many people think Armstrong is super human.
[Unidentified Male:] The guy is a super hero.
[Gupta:] And that's a question his mother has heard many times before.
[Kelly:] Is Lance super human? That's a question everyone has asked. He didn't get that way sitting on the couch eating potato chips. So lots of hard work, a lot of dedication.
[Gupta:] Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
[Nguyen:] Hard work, dedication, and yes, he is super human. You saw it right there. OK. Ever wanted to take a romantic vacation but can't figure out what to do with the kids? These days many places have kids clubs, but how do you know if they are safe? Hear an expert's advice just ahead.