When Floyd Landis stands atop the Tour de France podium on Sunday with the yellow jersey, he will do so knowing his victory came partly thanks to one of the race's biggest legends.

The 30-year-old American heads into Sunday's largely celebratory final stage to Paris with a 59-second lead on former Phonak teammate Oscar Pereiro and a lead of 1:29 on Germany's Andréas Klöden (T-Mobile).

At the end of 154km of racing that finishes on the Champs-Elysées, Landis will succeed another former teammate, Lance Armstrong, who won the jersey seven years in a row before retiring last year.

However, it is arguably the sport's biggest legend, Eddy Merckx, who could be foremost in his thoughts.

It was Merckx, whose son Axel rides in Phonak with Landis, who was among the first to call the American when he took the jersey for a second time in the race atop L'Alpe d'Huez on stage 15. And the man known as the "Cannibal" was there again when, the next day, Landis spectacularly collapsed on the 18km climb to La Toussuire and tumbled down the standings to 11th overall at 8:08 behind Pereiro.

"All I felt when I finished the stage was humiliation and depression. That was not in any way part of my plan," said Landis Saturday. "It was one of the more humiliating things that ever happened to me."

Merckx was known for his daring solo raids over the mountains even when he possessed a comfortable lead over his rivals. The day after he and Merckx spoke, Landis appeared to be on a suicide mission to salve his wounded pride when he attacked with 130km and five cols to negotiate. Against all odds, he won the stage over five minutes ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sastre (CSC). Pereiro held on to the yellow jersey, but by then the damage was done. Landis was only 30 seconds behind him in the overall standings.

"He (Merckx) called to congratulate me after the Alpe," added Landis, "and he was there on the rest day and rode with us a little while. It's an inspiration just having him around. No one will ever match his records. And on top of that he's a genuinely good person.

"When we had a bad day, he was one of the few people that actually believed it wasn't over. If it's okay with him, I don't mind him sticking around."

Merckx apart, Landis proved beyond doubt that he fully deserves to fill Armstrong's shoes.

He might not have had the custom-built team or the detailed preparation enjoyed by the 34-year-old Texan, but Landis's personal determination seemed enough when the chips were down. Having all but sealed his victory with a third-place finish behind Ukrainian Sergei Gontchar on Saturday, it means that an American has won the race for the eighth year in a row and 11 times since Greg LeMond first did so 20 years ago.

Landis conceded that despite his less-than-friendly relationship with Armstrong that he owes some of his success to his three-year spell with U.S. Postal.

"Racing the Tour believing you can win it was a good experience and one that many people have," said Landis, who brushed off a suggestion that winning the Tour was becoming an American obsession. "The streak is mostly thanks to Lance. Whether I'm part of a streak I don't know.

"But there are a lot of guys who want to win the race like me. It's three weeks long, and a lot can happen. On the right days, we had the right luck. So no, I don't think there's any 'American' characteristic."

It should not be forgotten that the 30-year-old from Pennsylvania, who grew up in a strict Mennonite Christian community, left the team-oriented clutches of U.S. Postal to follow his own personal dream.

His mission accomplished, Landis was also quick to give his parents – who don't even have a television - a word of thanks.

"I wished and hoped one day I would get the chance to win the yellow jersey, but I know it takes a lot of hard work, and a lot of sacrifice from other people, and then some luck," said Landis. "I don't pretend to know about what's going on in life. But I had good parents who taught me that hard work and patience can get you a lot in life.

"It just took me a while to get the patience part."