Tour De France: Peloton
reflects on awesome
Armstrong
By Alastair Fotheringham in
Castelsarrasin
17 July 2004
Lance Armstrong took a huge and probably
decisive step towards the history books and a
record-breaking sixth consecutive Tour de France
win when he shed all bar one of his rivals en
route to the mountain-top finish of La Mongie.
Since 1999, Armstrong attacking on the first
mountain stage of each Tour has become a
tradition, and this year was no exception. Only
Ivan Basso, a 26-year-old Italian, was able to stay
with the Texan, and, as if in recognition of his
prowess, Armstrong allowed the CSC rider to
cross the line ahead of him to claim the stage
win.
But Basso was the only rival not to knuckle under
when Armstrong and his US Postal troops laid
down a ferocious acceleration halfway up the
rain-soddened slopes leading to La Mongie.
Among the big names Tyler Hamilton, fourth in
last year's Tour, was first to crack, then Jan
Ullrich began to weave from side to side and
then Roberto Heras was left reeling in
Armstrong's wake. By the summit, the closest of
the top contenders, Ullrich, found himself 2min
30sec adrift, his and others' challenge in tatters.
As if to symbolise the dramatic shift in power
towards the American, Armstrong put his team to
work on the 180km (112 miles) approach south
from Castelsarrasin to the foot of the Aspin, the
first climb of the day.
As skies darkened and rain fell in buckets on La
Mongie, when the road began to steepen,
George Hincapie moved to the front of a
five-strong string of blue-clad US Postal riders.
That put paid to any significant attacks, except for
the overly-keen Dane Michael Rasmussen -
reeled in a third of the way up La Mongie - and
through the drizzle all that could be seen was a
line of cowed contenders trying to hold Hincapie's pace. By the summit, they
were down to a bare 50.
Then on the lower slopes of La Mongie, as the clouds finally lifted, Armstrong
repeated the formula but at an ominously higher pace.
First of the main men to fall out of contention thanks to Hincapie's charge was
Tyler Hamilton, who suddenly reeled to the left-hand side of the road.
Allegedly affected by the recent death of his dog, Tugboat, from stomach cancer
- so much so he wore a black armband on Friday's stage - Hamilton was clearly
in no mood for battle, and as the peloton shrank to barely a dozen riders behind
the Postal train, the Phonak leader made no attempt to try and bridge the gap.
Then at the same time, France's two idols of the 2004 Tour, race leader
Thomas Voeckler and stage 9 winner Richard Virenque, simultaneously found
themselves adrift of the main group. Armstrong's support had also shrunk to
just the new Portuguese recruit Jose Azevedo, but his grip on the race was
tightening steadily nonetheless.
But the biggest fish was about to be netted by Postal's aggressive strategy: 6km
from the finish, Ullrich, his face a mask of pain, slid backwards like a stone,
barely able to hold the wheel of team-mate Giuseppe Guerini. Ahead, the Texan
and Azevedo simply forged on.
It was as if the 2003 Tour, when Armstrong had been within 18 seconds of
losing the jersey at one point to Ullrich, had never happened. None of the bare
half-dozen riders clutching at the Texan's coat-tails could be counted as a
threat.
Then a timid attempt at rebellion by the Spaniards Carlos Sastre, attacking for a
second time, and Francisco Mancebo brought Armstrong himself to the fore,
scattering all behind him barring Sastre's team-mate Basso as he stomped on
the pedals 3km from the line. The two riders moved into the snow tunnels with
Sastre just 100 metres ahead, but the Spaniard was flailing and quickly fell
behind the Italian and American when they upped the pace a little further.
Then in the final kilometre Armstrong and Basso began talking, agreeing that
the Italian - a good friend of the American's and whose mother, like Armstrong
in the past, suffers from cancer - should take the stage. Presumably grateful
merely to be there, the Italian crossed the line with a shout of joy, but Armstrong,
just a bike-length behind him, knew that he had inflicted a knock-out blow on
the remainder of the field and the bedraggled contenders had the look of
defeated men about them as they finally reached the line.
Of the favourites Mayo, unable to respond to the tens of thousands of Basque
fans who had lined the route, was the closest, 1min 9sec back in ninth place.
Ullrich finished 2min 30sec adrift and Hamilton a massive 3min 27sec.
Armstrong was diplomatic about the advantage, simply saying he was
"surprised the gaps had been so big. Ullrich took it on the chin but he always
bounces back."
Overall, the true hierarchy of the Tour is growing steadily clearer, even if
Voeckler - who was so exhausted when he reached the finish he nearly collided
with the barriers - is still leader, 5min 24sec up on Armstrong, now second
overall, while Basso, who has the honour of being the Texan's most dangerous
rival from this point onwards, is 1min 9sec adrift of the American.
Asked if he could beat Armstrong, the Italian showed no sign of having his head
in the Pyrenean clouds whatsoever: "Lance is very strong," he answered simply.
But Armstrong himself has other headaches to deal with, centring on his US
Postal team-mate Pavel Padrnos, who is due to stand trial in late October for
alleged possession of doping substances in the 2001 Giro. However, as has
been the case since 1999, when Armstrong finds himself under scrutiny off or
on the bike he responds by fighting back more strongly.
All that remains, in Armstrong's game plan, is for Voeckler to crack completely
on today's second Pyrenean stage and for him to return to yellow. If the first
mountain stage is anything to go by, that - and the rest of the race - will prove to
be a mere formality. |
