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Post by youthinkyouknowme on Jul 21, 2004 15:48:59 GMT -5
As of today, 7/21/2004, he has the overall lead and just one the current stage further padding his stats.
Armstrong wins time trail, extends overall lead in Tour de France
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
July 21, 2004
AP - Jul 21, 12:59 pm EDT
More Photos
L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France (AP) -- Riding through a frenzied sea of fans, Lance Armstrong dominated his rivals Wednesday and extended his overall lead in the Tour de France by winning a time trial high in the Alps.
The five-time champion finished the 9.6-mile climb through 21 hairpin turns to the L'Alpe d'Huez ski station in 39 minutes, 41 seconds -- the only rider under 40 minutes. It was the first time Tour organizers set up an individual race against the clock on the legendary climb.
``I wanted it bad because of the history around this mountain and the importance to the race. All in all, it was a very important day,'' Armstrong said. ``Lots of emotion, lots of adrenaline.''
He was 61 seconds faster than second-place Jan Ullrich and actually passed his closest challenger, Ivan Basso, even though the Italian started two minutes ahead of the Texan.
``Lance is strong in the mountains,'' acknowledged Basso, who was eighth Wednesday, 2:23 behind, and now trails by 3:48 in the overall standings.
Armstrong said he was surprised Basso lost so much time, adding: ``It's still a tight race. I knew I had to be good.''
It was Armstrong's second consecutive stage victory, third during this Tour, and 19th of his career, plus two team time trials. At this point, seemingly only a disaster would stand in the way of a record sixth straight title when the cycling marathon ends in Paris on Sunday.
Behind Basso, Andreas Kloden is third overall, 5:03 back, after arriving third Wednesday, 1:41 behind Armstrong. His teammate Ullrich -- the 1997 champion and five-time runner-up -- is fourth overall, 7:55 off Armstrong's pace.
Last year, Armstrong finished just 1:01 ahead of Ullrich, by far the Texan's narrowest winning margin since he came back from cancer to win his first Tour in 1999.
No one came close to Armstrong's performance Wednesday. Wearing black shoes, black socks and his coveted yellow jersey, which he reclaimed by winning Tuesday's first stage in the Alps, Armstrong was relentless. Despite the steep climb, he rode at an average speed of 14.5 mph.
As overall leader, Armstrong had the advantage of being the last of the 157 cyclists to start the race against the clock. That enabled Armstrong to measure himself against his opponents -- notably Basso -- as he climbed.
``I didn't expect to get gain so much time on Ivan Basso,'' the American said. ``When I set out, I didn't know how fast I was going, how my form was. But a spectator said, 'A minute ahead.' I replied, 'No, no, that's not possible.'''
Mouth open, silver chain dangling out of his unzipped jersey, Armstrong caught Basso and passed him just after riding over a red-white-and-blue Texas state flag drawn on the black pavement. Basso glanced left at Armstrong, who just looked straight ahead.
At the bottom of the climb, crowds completely covered the road, parting only at the very last second as riders hurtled toward them. Some fans ran alongside the bicycles, waving flags that came close to catching handlebars or wheels. Others were slow to move aside, forcing riders to swerve. Spectators honked horns, blew trumpets, rang cowbells and urged riders on with applause and yells in a cacophony of languages.
Police motorcyclists rode in front of the racers, sirens blaring, parting the crowds somewhat. But every moment still seemed to be an accident waiting to happen.
``The crowds were animated,'' said Armstrong, who complained in particular about German fans. ``Although I enjoyed my day, I still think it's a bad idea to have a time trial on this mountain.''
Some of the hundreds of thousands of people camped out for days to get the best spots.
It was the 24th time since Fausto Coppi of Italy first won a stage here in 1952 that the Tour had come to L'Alpe d'Huez. But until now, the mountain was the tiring end of Alpine stages that had already taken riders over other climbs.
The ascent has an average gradient of 7.9 percent, rising to 11.5 percent in its steepest stretches. It is classed as ``hors categorie,'' or unrated -- the hardest on the cycling scale of difficulty.
The route started with a flat section in the valley at Bourg-d'Oisans and finished at an altitude of 6,105 feet, for a vertical ascent of 3,729 feet.
Some riders did not go all out, saving energy for Thursday and one of the toughest stages this year: 126.8 miles from Bourg-d'Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand. That trek includes five climbs, one of them an unrated ascent to Col de la Madeleine, at an altitude of 6,600 feet.
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