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As Lance Armstrong closes in on a seventh straight Tour de France title, the high mountains safely behind him and the finish almost in sight, just one thing is missing: a daily stage win of his own. In all of his previous record six Tour wins, Armstrong always managed to win at least one individual stage.

Lance Armstrong isn’t just trying to win a seventh straight Tour de France title, he’s also trying to win over the French fans. Armstrong’s sometimes brash dominance of the 102-year-old race is one reason why he has encountered hostility. In recent years, politics also have played a part.

French environmentalists reacted with fury on Tuesday after hunters shot dead one of the last remaining bears in the Pyrenees mountains separating France and Spain. The 15-year-old female was killed on Monday in the Aspe valley when she and her cub were surprised by a group of hunters taking part in a wild-boar shoot.