HighPoint49er
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2002
- Posts
- 15,490
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 36
- Age
- 68
- Location
- High Point, NC
- Website
- Visit site
Armstrong shakes off rivals with mountain win
LA MONGIE, France (Reuters) -- Defending champion Lance Armstrong seized the overall lead in the Tour de France when he outclassed his rivals to win the first mountain stage over 158 kilometers from Pau to La Mongie on Thursday.
Helped by a fantastic effort from his U.S. Postal teammates, the three times Tour champion dropped his opponents one by one in the first big climbs of the Pyrenees to prove that he was once again the one and only boss in the bunch.
The American surged ahead in the last 200 meters to beat Spaniard Joseba Beloki, who took second place seven seconds behind and looks like Armstrong's only rival for the rest of the Tour.
Armstrong's teammate Roberto Heras of Spain, who led his leader towards an impressive 13th stage victory overall in the ski resort of La Mongie, was third.
"To me he was the stage winner," said the American about Heras, and then explained he could not let his teammate win the stage because Beloki was close to them.
"To me, the biggest takeaway is the team and the performance of the team, it's one thing to take the yellow jersey and another thing to keep it.
"For this you need a great team and I can sleep well at night knowing I have a great team, the best team in the race," he added.
Overall, Armstrong leads Beloki by one minute 12 seconds with Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, who held the yellow jersey at the start of the stage, third 1:48 behind.
For Armstrong, who had won the first mountain stage in each of his three previous Tour victories, the last climb to La Mongie, halfway up the Tourmalet pass, was almost business as usual.
But his teammates, who led the peloton's chase throughout the stage behind early breakaways, did a fantastic job in an impressive final show of strength.
LA MONGIE, France (Reuters) -- Defending champion Lance Armstrong seized the overall lead in the Tour de France when he outclassed his rivals to win the first mountain stage over 158 kilometers from Pau to La Mongie on Thursday.
Helped by a fantastic effort from his U.S. Postal teammates, the three times Tour champion dropped his opponents one by one in the first big climbs of the Pyrenees to prove that he was once again the one and only boss in the bunch.
The American surged ahead in the last 200 meters to beat Spaniard Joseba Beloki, who took second place seven seconds behind and looks like Armstrong's only rival for the rest of the Tour.
Armstrong's teammate Roberto Heras of Spain, who led his leader towards an impressive 13th stage victory overall in the ski resort of La Mongie, was third.
"To me he was the stage winner," said the American about Heras, and then explained he could not let his teammate win the stage because Beloki was close to them.
"To me, the biggest takeaway is the team and the performance of the team, it's one thing to take the yellow jersey and another thing to keep it.
"For this you need a great team and I can sleep well at night knowing I have a great team, the best team in the race," he added.
Overall, Armstrong leads Beloki by one minute 12 seconds with Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, who held the yellow jersey at the start of the stage, third 1:48 behind.
For Armstrong, who had won the first mountain stage in each of his three previous Tour victories, the last climb to La Mongie, halfway up the Tourmalet pass, was almost business as usual.
But his teammates, who led the peloton's chase throughout the stage behind early breakaways, did a fantastic job in an impressive final show of strength.
