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| Europe |
| Armstrong Clears Path to Sixth Tour Title |
| 2004-07-17 |
| Clearing the path to a record sixth straight Tour de France crown, Lance Armstrong overpowered his rivals in the 13th stage Saturday to cement his place as one of cycling's greatest riders. Armstrong captured the stage and is now just 22 seconds behind leader Thomas Voeckler. But the French rider most likely will be easy prey for Armstrong. "The team was great. ... It was a dream," Armstrong said. Only Italian rider Ivan Basso managed to stay with the five-time champion on the last of seven climbs in the Pyrenees. Others scattered down the mountain, their hopes of winning seemingly all but over. With just the Alps and two time trials left to negotiate next week, only a meltdown by Armstrong or an unforeseen accident appeared to stand in the way of victory in Paris on July 25. Armstrong won the stage ahead of Basso, overtaking him with a final burst of speed. He also won on this route in 2002. Germany's Jan Ullrich - abandoned again, as he was Friday - was 2 minutes, 42 seconds behind. In just two stages in the Pyrenees, Voeckler's lead has shrunk from more than nine minutes. Two punishing stages await in the Alps, Armstrong's playground in previous Tours, as well as the two time trials - more than enough for the Texan to seal a record sixth win. Basso, 1:39 behind Armstrong in the overall standings, has emerged as the last main rival to eliminate. But he is not an excellent time trial rider while Armstrong is. Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, is 6:39 behind the Texan overall. Last year, he lost the Tour to Armstrong by just 61 seconds. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 true! Basso's doing really well. I've heard he doesn't have the horses for the long run, but that didn't seem the case at all, today.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-17 3:42:47 PM |
| #7 Hey, cheers for the Italian too. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-07-17 3:40:46 PM |
| #6 well, Lucky, you're right, I've got a mountain bike |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-17 3:34:06 PM |
| #5 He does appear poised to pound and punt the Parley-voos. POW! |
| Posted by: Korora 2004-07-17 2:59:47 PM |
| #4 Here's hoping he wins just to stick it to the Froggies. An American? And a Texan to boot? Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth there will be as the simplisme Phrench react to another loss. :-p Go, Lance! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-07-17 1:23:01 PM |
| #3 Complete chaos and mayhem behind Lance. What a effort by Voekler. Basso is a good looking rider. Right there with Lance. It will be intersting to see his TT form. He could be the next patron after Lance. I knew Tyler wasn't strong enough, Sherwin has a good point. Contrast Hamiltons position on his bike to Voekler. Voekler looks compact and fast but he also looks tortured when he stands on his pedals in the climbs. He may want to train with Lance and learn the hi cadence style. Simone, poor guy! Looks like he wants to go home too. What did I say about Ulrich, he's just GC fodder. Mr Frank, we're all cyclists. You never forget y'know! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-17 12:56:49 PM |
| #2 I'm not a cyclist, but watching OLN's coverage is great! Armstrong simply blew the doors off the last 100m |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-17 12:40:25 PM |
| #1 Tyler Hamilton abandoned on this stage, too - bad back from another crash. Paul Sherwen thinks he's crash prone because he sits too rigidly in his saddle, implying a higher center of gravity and less flexibility in reacting to road conditions. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-17 12:04:28 PM |