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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Lance Armstrong Wins Stage |
| 2004-07-22 |
| Lance Armstrong outsprinted Andreas Kloden to the finish line to capture Thursday's 17th stage of the 2004 Tour de France. Armstrong, who began the day with the leader's yellow jersey, finished the 127-mile trek in the Alps in a time of six hours, 11 minutes and 52 seconds. He extended his overall lead from 3:48 to 4:09 and is in position to make history with his sixth straight Tour de France crown. It was the third consecutive stage win and the fourth overall of this year's Tour for Armstrong. The American has 20 career stage victories. Armstrong beat Kloden to the finish by inches and the two concluded the stage with the same time, while Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were just a second off the pace. Armstrong's teammate, Floyd Landis, finished fifth -- 13 seconds behind. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #6 Beloki is suspended... when is he allowed back? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-22 4:24:19 PM |
| #5 Raj, you were right about Basso a couple days ago. He doesn't have the time trial skills yet. One thing that strikes me as I've watched this cycling season unfold is that. aside from Lance, there appears to be a changing of the guard. Cipolini is out done by Petacchi. Jalabert retired last year. Museeuw just retired. Ullrich is more bark than bite. Joseba Beloki, after so many podium finishes, is nowhere to be found. If Landis and Basso and a dozen other guys I couldn't name are the future of cycling, then this is its' golden age.[/pointless rant] |
| Posted by: Scott R 2004-07-22 2:18:04 PM |
| #4 Time to unscrew the "sparkling wine"! I'll just poke a straw through my cardboard box! |
| Posted by: Dragon Fly 2004-07-22 1:57:05 PM |
| #3 Time to unscrew the "sparkling wine"! |
| Posted by: danking70 2004-07-22 1:55:23 PM |
| #2 Doh! - 'next to last stage" should be 'next to last climb'. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-22 1:02:09 PM |
| #1 I can't believe the work Landis has been doing in the Alps. On Stage 15 Landis (not the first guy I think about when it comes to climbing) was the other US Postal rider to escort Lance to the next to last stage (the other guy's Azevedo, currently 5th overall). After that, and the TT up Alpe d'Huez, he comes in fifth on what was being hyped as the hardest day of the Tour? Unbelievable! The only excitement left - can Kloden (T-Mobile, Ullrich's teammate) dislodge Basso (CSC) for second? Basso's in front of Kloden by 1'2", and Kloden's a better time trialist than Basso. Saturday's stage (55 Km) will be fun to watch for that battle. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-22 1:00:49 PM |