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| | Saturday, July 15 A spoiled celebration | ||||||
| By Andrew Hood ABC Sports Online DRAGUIGNAN, France -- There's no better way to ruin a Frenchman's day than to spoil his nation's birthday party. That's just what Jose Vicente Garcia-Acosta did in Friday's 13th stage, a 115-mile ride from Avignon to Draguignan, spoling the Bastille Day atmosphere. All day long, the French were waving their flags, singing their songs and drinking their wine. Tonight they're crying with their beers.
This year's Tour de France has been marred with heavy winds from the start. Riders were buffeted by strong winds yet again on Friday. "It's been awful. We've been fighting the wind since the Tour started," said David Millar, winner of the first stage. "It really makes the racing a lot more demanding and tiring." Despite the wind, riders were hungry to hunt for a stage-win before hitting three hard days in the Alps over four days starting Saturday. It was the calm before the storm, except the skies weren't very calm. After many failed breaks, Didier Rous broke free with Jalabert at the 65k mark. Jalabert drifted back to join 11 counter-attackers -- including U.S. Postal's Frankie Andreu -- were off the front of the peloton. At the day's second climb, Rous led the dozen chasers by 52 seconds and the peloton by 6:09. At the feedzone Rous dropped back to join the main breakaway. With 52k to go, Garcia-Acosta attacked and Jalabert and fellow Frenchman Pascal Herve joined him. The breakaway splintered and Andreu faded back to join the main bunch. With 16k to go, Jalabert attacked and Garcia-Acosta went with him. The Spaniard made the winning move with 12k to go. Easy for Armstrong Lance Armstrong easily retained his overall lead in Friday's 13th stage. Up next are the hardest climbing stages of the three-week, 2,250-mile Tour, three decisive stages over four days that will determine whether Armstrong will repeat as Tour champion. "Saturday and Sunday will be very hard," Armstrong said after finishing 27th with the main bunch. He remains 4:55 ahead of second-place Jan Ullrich, a German on the Telekom team. "The stages in the Alps are long and difficult. The stage Saturday has three high cols. There's a lot of racing left," Armstrong said. The Alps present the most difficult climbs in the Tour and the last chance for Armstrong's rivals to attack. High, long and steep, the narrow mountain roads in the Alps always prove to be the turning point in any Tour. "Armstrong is in very good position," said coach Chris Carmichael. "He now has to watch out for a crash or a bad day when he might get too cold. Otherwise Armstrong is in a perfect position." Here comes the Alps Saturday's 14th stage will prove to be a long day in the saddle. At 154 miles, it's the second-longest stage in this year's Tour. Racers are scheduled to mount their bikes at 9:30 a.m. in sunny Draguignan and aren't expected to roll into Briancon for another eight hours. Along the way are three major high-altitude passes, or "cols," including the 7,788-foot Col d'Izoard late in the race. "Saturday's stage is very difficult," said Cedric Vasseur, one of Armstrong's teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team. "The team is very confident we will be ready. The team rode very strong up Mont Ventoux. All we have to do is control the race." Controlling the race means keeping Armstrong's rivals in check. Riders will attack off the front, but if they are not a threat to Armstrong's overall lead, the U.S. Postal team can let them chase a stage-win. Armstrong enjoys such a big lead -- up to 10 minutes over some of his top rivals -- he can ride conservatively. In Sunday's 107-mile 15th stage, racers will tackle the 8,728-foot Col du Galibier, the highest point in this year's Tour, before hitting the 6,600-foot Col de la Madeleine and then the grueling 14-mile summit finish at Courchevel, a ski resort high in the Alps. On Monday, the racers will enjoy the second of two rest days before hitting the mountains for the final time in Tuesday's brutal five-climb, 121-mile stage from Courchevel to Morzine. If Armstrong rolls out of the Alps with his lead intact, the final five stages back to Paris will be little more than one long victory parade. How they stand: How the Tour favorites rank following Friday's 13th stage: Lance Armstrong: 1st overall Jan Ullrich: 2nd overall, 4:55 behind Richard Virenque: 6th overall, 8:28 behind Laurent Jalabert; 11th overall, 10:14 behind Marco Pantani: 12th overall, 10:26 behind Alex Zülle: 13th overall, 10:46 behind Bobby Julich: 31st, 21:08 behind Six more bow out Six riders abandoned the Tour, leaving 145 in the Tour. The latest dropouts included Stage Nine winner Paolo Bettini and his Mapei teammate, Michele Bartoli. Both suffered from food sickness. Laurent Dufaux and Angel Casero, fourth and fifth last year respectively, also pulled out. Luke in yellow Lance Armstrong's infant son was the star attraction at the start of Friday's 13th stage. Armstrong's wife, Kristen, brought Luke to the U.S. Postal Service team bus where Armstrong hides himself before every stage. Shortly before mounting the bike, Armstrong posed with Luke for photographers. Armstrong was all smiles as Luke was dressed in a yellow Tour de France T-shirt, the same color as Dad's race leader's jersey. | ALSO SEE Armstrong keeps 4:55 Tour lead heading to Alps Rodriguez Diary No. 7 Stage Thirteen results AUDIO/VIDEO   Jose Vincente Garcia-Acosta wins Stage 13.avi: 921 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Stage 13 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 Stage 14 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 | ||||||
