Le Tour - Tour de France 2005

[Astronuc]

I was a bit slow on starting this.  Lance Armstrong is going for a 7th victory - he already has an unprecedented 6 victories.

Armstrong Loses Overall Lead at Tour de France
Voigt Gets Yellow Jersey With Third-Place Finish in Ninth Stage
By JOHN LEICESTER, AP SPORTS

MULHOUSE, France (July 10) - Lance Armstrong is content to let someone else wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France - for now.  He surrendered the overall lead in the ninth stage Sunday, taking the pressure off his team as the Alps await and challenges with key rivals could begin in earnest.  Armstrong's ultimate goal, however, remains unchanged: a seventh straight title at the finish in Paris on July 24 before he retires.

"We don't need the yellow jersey," said Armstrong, who is in third place, 2 minutes, 18 seconds behind the leader. "We don't need to keep it in the Alps, we need to have it at the end."

Germany's Jens Voigt - not a contender to win in Paris - took the jersey by finishing three minutes ahead of the six-time champion.

Denmark's Mickael Rasmussen won the stage with a gutsy solo ride. He was first over the six climbs, covering the 106.3-mile route from Gerardmer to Mulhouse in eastern France in 4 hours, 8 minutes, 20 seconds.

Voigt finished 3:04 later, just behind France's Christophe Moreau. Armstrong, who had worn yellow for five days, finished in 28th place, crossing the line comfortably in a pack with his main rivals.

"I felt like today might be the day when the jersey would be given away and it turned out it was," Armstrong said.

The riders rest Monday before the first of three Alpine stages - from Grenoble to the ski station of Courchevel. The route has two major climbs.

Wednesday's stage is one of the hardest this year, with three ascents in quick succession peaking with the monstrous Col du Galibier, the Tour's highest point at 8,677 feet.

The good news for Armstrong is that his Discovery Channel teammates appeared to have recovered quickly from their collapse on a climb Saturday, when all eight abandoned him, unable to match the quick uphill pace. That left Armstrong alone to fend off his rivals.

"We were better," Armstrong said. "That's good going into the rest day: regroup and get ready for the big climbs."

Rivals said Discovery's blowout probably was nothing more than a temporary bout of fatigue after a fast first week of racing, and Armstrong remains the man to beat.

"Don't sell the bear's skin before you've killed the bear," Moreau said.

"That won't happen again," U.S. rider Bobby Julich of Team CSC said. "You can maybe disappoint Lance once, but it's better not to disappoint him twice."

Discovery rode hard Sunday at the front of the main pack, strategically allowing Rasmussen and then Voigt and Moreau to pedal off ahead, confident they cannot challenge Armstrong for the overall Tour title.

Armstrong teammate George Hincapie, the only Discovery racer to have ridden with the American for all of his six Tour wins, said the squad has become a victim of its own success.

When it wins events like the team time trial, which it did again this year, "nobody even says congratulations any more," he said.

Hincapie said the only news is if the team has a bad day.

"Then everybody loves that," he said.

"The important thing is just put it behind us," he added. "By time we get to the Alps hopefully we'll be back to normal."

Beyond the Alps come the Pyrenees, followed by a time trial on the next-to-last day of the Tour - an event at which Armstrong excels. In short, he has plenty of opportunities to retake the yellow jersey.

Moreau is second overall, 1:50 behind Voigt. Because they finished together in a group, the time differences between Armstrong and his main rivals - Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Alexandre Vinokourov - remained unchanged.

Ullrich finished 29th, Vinokourov was 35th and Basso 39th.

Rasmussen won a stage for the first time. By being first over the day's six ascents, he also accumulated points for the Tour's mountain-climbing competition. That contest awards a polka dot jersey to the rider with most points, currently Rasmussen.

"It's the only thing I'm good at, climbing mountains," Rasmussen said.

Among the ascents Sunday - and the hardest of the race so far - was the famed Ballon d'Alsace, first climbed on the Tour 100 years ago. Rene Pottier ascended first that day in 1905, but later dropped out of the race with tendinitis. The Frenchman won the Tour the next year.

Five riders dropped out Sunday, including American David Zabriskie of Team CSC. Zabriskie won the yellow jersey on the Tour's first day but lost it to Armstrong three days later when he fell in the team time trial. Zabriskie had struggled with injuries picked up in the crash.

[greenleaf1]

Allez Mellow Johnny!!!!        So far, so good!

[Rxke]

Third win for Robert 'Robbie' McEwen!

Impressive. Thoug for a Belgian like me a bit mixed feelings... Tom Boonen (B) had to give up because of knee injury, and he and Robbie were doing some good sprinting 'duels'

BTW Robbie lives in Belgium also, and speaks fluent Dutch!

I follow all races live on TV, sometimes from the very start, but more often the last hour or so.

Epic sporting event, amazing how those guys keep racing despite injuries, sometimes...

Lance is looking good.

[Astronuc]

I imagine those guys get stoked on adrenaline, and they just keep going.

Same site as last year - http://www.letour.fr/

Today - the riders are in Stage 14 - in the mountains -

Km 90.5 - Col de Villerouge - 6.3 km climb to 3.6 % - 4 Category
Km 98.5 - Col de Bedos - 3.3 km climb to 4.4 % - 4 Category
Km 104 - Col des Fourches - 2.2 km climb to 4.5 % - 4 Category
Km 115.5 - Col du Paradis - 5.8 km climb to 4.1 % - 3 Category
Km 191.5 - Port de Pailhères - 15.1 km climb to 8.1 % - H Category
Km 219.5 - AX 3 DOMAINES - 7.9 km climb to 8.3 % - 1 Category

[Astronuc]

Armstrong to feel the heat in Pyrenees
 
By Francois Thomazeau

MONTPELLIER, France, July 15 (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong has spent a "pretty enjoyable" Tour de France so far but the hardest part of his final fling will be this weekend.

The unforgiving Pyrenees climbs, the heat and the memories could add up to pose the six-times champion more problems than his rivals as he tries to bow out with a seventh title.

Danish climber Michael Rasmussen is only 38 seconds behind him overall, but the American does not seem unduly concerned.

"It's closer in terms of time than the other years. But regardless of what happens tomorrow and the next day, we have a long time trial at the end," said Armstrong, referring to the penultimate day of the Tour in St Etienne.

"We have to be conservative and not follow one guy. If I can't follow some of his explosive accelerations, I can wait for the end," he said.

Heat, which had an impact on his worst two days on the Tour in 2003, is something the Texan fears more than Rasmussen.

That year, after losing badly to Jan Ullrich in a time trial in Cap Decouverte, he also lost 19 seconds to the German on the Plateau de Bonascre, close to Saturday's finish in Ax-3 Domaines.

"There's no doubt that the impression that I suffered in the heat came about in 2003 because we had an incredibly hot summer," said the Texan. "I'm not going to say it's not true.

"But we don't really know the answer. Everybody suffers in the heat but some handle it harder than others. It makes me worry and I have to be extra careful.

"The Pyrenees are forecast to be extremely hot. That's all I can say. We could have a freak rainstorm, which would be nice. But probably not. We have to be prepared for hot stuff."

The nature of the climbs is also a cause for concern.

"They are different (to the Alps), shorter and steeper. They favour a lighter, more explosive rider," he said, a description that befits Rasmussen.

Armstrong said Sunday's 15th stage to Pla d'Adet, which includes most of the classic Pyrenees climbs, could be even harder than Saturday's.

HARDEST DAY

"We have to say that's the hardest day of the Tour. It's a stage that we do almost every year, even if they change the final climb. That's tough. That's the hardest day," he said.

Armstrong added the memory of team mate Fabio Casartelli, who died in a crash in the descent of the Porter d'Aspect 10 years ago, would be another motivation.

"It's going to mean a lot because it's my last year. It shows you how time flies because it feels almost like yesterday when we descended it and I saw him there.

"It's always a tough time to pass that point."

Armstrong did have a few words of criticism for Tour organisers, hitting out at the long car transfers between stages.

"The only negative thing I have to say is that it's been hard on the transfers," said the 33-year-old.

"To have a two-hour transfer after three days in the Alps, I don't think that's acceptable. To me, that's not cool."

Teams had to be taken from Digne-les-Bains, at the foot of the Alps, to Miramas, near Marseille, a 150-kilometre drive, for the start of Friday's 13th stage to Montpellier.

[Astronuc]

Armstrong retains lead, teammate wins Stage 17!

 1.  Lance ARMSTRONG  72:55:50   
  2.  Ivan BASSO  2:46 behind   
  3.  Mickael RASMUSSEN  3:09   
  4.  Jan ULLRICH  5:58   
  5.  Francisco MANCEBO  6:31   
  6.  Levi LEIPHEIMER  7:35   
  7.  Alexandre VINOKOUROV  9:38   
  8.  Cadel EVANS  9:49   
  9.  Floyd LANDIS  9:53   
  10.  Christophe MOREAU  12:07

Savoldelli wins longest Tour de France stage; Armstrong gets his 79th yellow jersey!
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer

REVEL, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong claimed his 79th yellow jersey Wednesday at the Tour de France in a stage won by Discovery Channel teammate Paolo Savoldelli.

Armstrong tied French great Bernard Hinault. Only Eddy Merckx, with 111, has won more yellow jerseys. Merckx, Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Jacques Anquetil all won five Tours -- a record Armstrong surpassed last year.

Savoldelli's victory in the 17th stage, the longest this year, was the third for Armstrong's Discovery Channel team at this year's race. George Hincapie won a stage in the Pyrenees and the squad won the team time trial.

Hincapie and Savoldelli are the first of Armstrong's teammates to win a stage in the Tour since the Texan's run of victories began in 1999. Armstrong finished in a small group 22 minutes and 28 seconds behind Savoldelli and his overall lead remained unchanged.

Savoldelli also won his second Giro d'Italia title earlier this year, overcoming injuries and health problems that almost ended his career.

"It's been a very lucky year for me,'' he said.

Savoldelli was part of a breakaway group that built up a lead of more than 24 minutes over Armstrong's following pack. Because the riders ahead were no threat to his overall lead, Armstrong did not give chase.

Instead, the main pack of riders took it easy for much of the 148.8-mile trek across southern France from Pau to Revel. Their average speed over the second and third hours of the stage was less than 25 miles an hour -- slower than usual.

Only toward the end did Armstrong and other top riders up the pace.

Savoldelli's time was 5 hours, 41 minutes and 19 seconds, riding at average of 26.1 miles per hour.

Armstrong's overall lead over Ivan Basso of Italy, who also finished in his group, stayed at 2:46. Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark is 3:09 back.

Armstrong and the others in the main pack, including his closest rivals, soaked up the scenery of rolling hills, picturesque villages and freshly harvested fields, chatting and occasionally joking with television crews.

Armstrong even hammed it up for TV viewers -- a clear indication that the pressure on him eased when he emerged from the last day in the high mountains on Tuesday with his comfortable lead intact.

"George, George,'' he shouted to Hincapie, urging him to speak to the cameras.

"I'm working, I can't speak,'' Hincapie said as he pedaled.

Toward the end of the stage, there was dramatic jostling for places below Armstrong in the overall standings.

Going into the last of four hills on the route, 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich's T-Mobile team began to speed up.

Ullrich and teammate Alexandre Vinokourov both accelerated, taking other racers by surprise. Armstrong and seven other riders managed to match the quick pace, but a large bunch of other racers did not and were dropped.

They included Australian Cadel Evans and American Floyd Landis, who both started the stage just ahead of Vinokourov in seventh and eighth place, respectively.

But they finished 20 seconds behind Vinokourov. That was good enough to vault the Kazakh rider ahead of both Evans and Landis and into seventh place.

[greenleaf1]

Good to see Savoldelli take the stage!

[Astronuc]

Armstrong Takes Last Ride of His Amazing Career
Texan Rolls Into Paris to Collect Seventh Tour de France Title     

PARIS (July 24) - Lance Armstrong set off Sunday on the last ride of his amazing career, a victory parade into Paris to collect his seventh Tour de France title.

The 33-year-old who came back from cancer to dominate cycling's most prestigious race was retiring at the end of the 21st and last stage of this year's Tour, a 89.8-mile trek from Corbeil-Essonnes south of Paris.

Only a freak accident on the last leg could prevent him from collecting his title on the famed Champs-Elysees. There, he will mount the podium one last time - and then say farewell.

Armstrong capped his Tour by winning the final time trial on Saturday - extending his overall lead.

Tears welled in Armstrong's steel-blue eyes as he looked down Saturday from the winner's podium at his children - 5-year-old Luke and 3-year-old twins Grace and Isabelle - and slipped into the 82nd race leader's yellow jersey of his career.

An 83rd "maillot jaune" awaited him in Paris. Only Belgian Eddy Merckx - with 111 yellow jerseys - has won more. But Armstrong will have won two more Tours by Sunday.

Armstrong beat Jan Ullrich, his perennial rival, by 23 seconds in Saturday's clock-race, crowning another dominant Tour by earning the individual stage win he had lacked this year.

Riding with an aerodynamic bike, helmet and suit to reduce wind drag and save seconds, Armstrong made easy work of the winding, hilly and crowd-lined route that looped north of Saint-Etienne in central France.

As race leader, Armstrong set out last of the 155 riders left after three weeks of racing across France and its mountains. On July 2, 189 riders started the Tour.

At the first time-check, Armstrong trailed Ivan Basso of Italy. But he led by the second and stayed ahead from that point.

The stage win was the 22nd of Armstrong's career. Eleven of those were time trials. Armstrong also won three team trials - including one this year - with his support riders.

"It's nice to finish your career on a high note," Armstrong said. "As a sportsman, I wanted to go out on top."

He even overtook Denmark's Mickael Rasmussen, who started out six minutes before him but had a disastrous ride on the tricky and technical route's sharp bends, fast downhills and tiring uphills.

Armstrong said he was motivated by his children.

"To have three precious little people there hopefully remembering one last yellow jersey was a very strong incentive for me," the American said. "I wanted to ride in today and ride into Paris in yellow for them, for the last image of their father as a sportsman to be that of a champion."

Armstrong traditionally sips champagne in the saddle on the last ride into Paris. Excitement is reserved for the end, when sprinters contest for the honor of winning the stage on the crowd-lined Champs-Elysees.

Even before he set off Sunday morning, admirers gathered on the Champs-Elysees. Many wore yellow jerseys. Some were wrapped in American flags, and others, like 53-year-old cancer survivor Nigel Clifton of England, said they came to support their hero.

"Lance Armstrong has been an inspiration to me," said Clifton, who overcame testicular cancer like Armstrong. "I came especially from Britain to support him. I wanted to see him on his bike."

Thor Hushovd of Norway is aiming to defend his green jersey, awarded to the Tour's best sprinter. But two Australians, Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen, are hoping to wrest it from him on the last leg.

Armstrong said he was retiring with "no regrets" as winning the Tour has brought him huge fame and fortune.

"There's no reason to continue. I don't need more," he said. "My time is up, I don't crave attention."

Basso should finish second on the podium, improving on his third place last year. The last podium place will go to Ullrich, who moved up from fourth to third in the overall standings with a fine ride in the time trial.

Ullrich, the 1997 Tour champion whose hopes of winning another have repeatedly been dashed by Armstrong, said he gave "everything I had but it was not enough against Lance.

"But I'm happy to be on the podium and to finish this Tour in good health, despite the two crashes I had," the German added.

Armstrong says he wants to stay out of the public eye for the next few years.

"I need a period of quiet and peace and privacy," the Texan said.

But Armstrong knows where he'll be next July.

"I will be parked in front of the TV watching the Tour," he said. "The 2006 Tour de France is going to be very interesting ... It will be a very different race."
       

 

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Thanks for the memories and inspiration, Lance!  Vive Mellow Johnny!