 |
 |
|
| | Saturday, July 15 Stage 14 was a killer | ||||||||||
| By Andrew Hood ABC Sports Online BRIANCON, France -- Don't play poker with Lance Armstrong. The man in the yellow jersey has one of the straightest faces in cycling. He grits his teeth, sticks out his jaw, spins his pedals and away he goes, but you'd never know he was suffering through his hardest day of the 2000 Tour de France.
The peloton was not in a hurry to get things going. Ahead of them was a long, hard day in the saddle. Four rated climbs were on the menu. Right off the bat was the category-two, 840-meter Cote de Canjuers at 19.5kms. Up next was the first major climb of the day, the category-one, 2,250-meter Col d'Allos at 127 kms. Next was the category-one, 2,109-meter Col de Vars and the finale up and over the beyond-category, 2,360-meter Col d'Izoard. At least it was sunny. Temperatures were in the high 70s and the bright French sun was blazing in all its glory. Armstrong and U.S. Postal teammate Tyler Hamilton used special lightweight climbing bikes, tipping the scales about 2 pounds lighter than their normal road bike. The average speed over the first four hours was 28.1 km/h, compared to 41.2 km/h average speed of the race so far. Over d'Allos The race finally began with Spanish riders attacking off the front, fragmenting the lead group. Armstrong and the top favorites were in a front group of about 16 riders while Laurent Jalabert and Abraham Olano, both of ONCE, faded back. Pascal Herve, a French rider on Polti, was the first over the top of the col. On the descent, seven riders including Paolo Salvodelli, an Italian on Saeco , opened up a gap. Over de Vars The lead group came back together on the descent off the col and Olano, Jalabert and most of the U.S. Postal team came together. Seven of Armstrong's Postal teammates led the main train of riders driving at a much faster rate. Off the front 2'52" were the seven lead riders. Two others were trying to bridge.
Tens of thousands of fans clogged the narrow, winding 17-mile climb up Izoard, one of the steepest climbs in the Alps. Strong winds buffeted the summits, but sunny skies prevailed. With Botero and seven other riders off the front, the U.S. Postal Service team led the main group. Midway up the climb, Postal's Hamilton and Kevin Livingston were setting a quick tempo when Pantani charged off the front. Pantani's move splintered the lead group. Armstrong followed but Ullrich, Richard Virenque, Alex Zulle and other challengers couldn't match the pace. Laurent Jalabert, who held the lead in the Tour's first week, lost more than 36 minutes and plummeted from 11th overall to 46th. Zulle, second overall last year, lost more than 14 minutes and fell from 13th to 23rd. "When Pantani attacked he was going very strong, very fast. Today he was the stronger climber," said Armstrong, who let Pantani win a stage Tuesday up Mont Ventoux. "I think up Ventoux I was stronger, but today Pantani was stronger." Pantani and Armstrong were reeled in by Ullrich and seven other riders on the final hump to the summit of Izoard. After a hair-rising descent down twisting, diving roads with speeds up to 60 mph, Pantani squirted off the lead group to finish third into Briancon. Botero held his lead all the way to the finish, 2'30" ahead of Italy's Paolo Savoldelli. Botero took over the polka-dot climber's jersey and earned his nation's fourth Tour stage-win. Luis Herrera, Fabio Parra and Chepe Gonzalez are the other Colombian Tour stage-winners. "It's the best day of my life, a stage-win and the climber's jersey," Botero said. "My nation is proud that we produce world-class cyclists. We are not a rich country." Too much Riders weren't too happy at the end of the stage. It was long hard day on the bike. Nearly one-third of the field finished in the "gruppeto," or the final group of riders to cross the line, more than 36 minutes slower than the stage-winner. "It was BS," said David Millar, who held the yellow jersey early in the race. "They want to clean up the sport and why do they put in stages like that? They must think we're robots." Race leader Lance Armstrong agreed. " A lot of these guys will be racing for nearly nine hours. You saw in the first four hours the racing wasn't very aggressive," Armstrong said, then joking. "I'm not doing another 250-kilometer stage, no way. I quit. It will be nice to race 75 kilometers less (on Sunday)." Tough on Sunday Armstrong is now in the driver's seat. Two more mountain stages are all that stand between Armstrong and the final week of racing that is largely flat as the Tour winds westward toward Paris. Armstrong's rivals for the overall lead know their time is running out. "It was super hard today. I am glad that we came back when the group broke up. I couldn't do any better. I was at my limit," said Ullrich, a Tour winner in 1997. "I have to see how the race goes and act accordingly. Armstrong is super strong. If the differences remain the same, it's going to be difficult." But the road to Paris - where the 87th Tour ends July 23 -- gets steeper before it gets easier. Sunday's 107-mile 15th stage tackles three major climbs, including the Tour's highest point at the 8,728-foot Col du Galibier and ends with a summit finish at Courchevel. The final mountain stage is Tuesday after a rest day Monday. "I think tomorrow will be more difficult than Tuesday," said Armstrong, who came back from cancer to win last year's Tour. "I feel confident in my condition. Pantani will be dangerous at Courchevel." How they fared: How the Tour favorites finished in Saturday's stage and where they stand in the overall classification: Lance Armstrong: Finished 7th at 2'30" behind winner Santiago Botero; 1st overall. Jan Ullrich: Finished 9th with the same time as Armstrong; 2nd overall at 4'55" Richard Virenque: Finished 5th at 2'49" behind Botero; 5th overall at 8'26" Laurent Jalabert: Finished 123rd at 36'35" behind Botero; 46th overall at 43'58" Marco Pantani: Finished 3rd at 2'46" behind Botero; 9th overall at 10'13" Alex Zulle: Finished 52nd at 14'06" behind Botero; 23rd overall at 22'01" Bobby Julich: Finished 79th at 27'56" behind Botero; 49th overall at 46'13" Chann McRae: Abandoned the Tour at stage 12. Four riders abandoned. 141 riders remain in the Tour. The jerseys: Lance Armstrong retained the overall leaders yellow jersey. Erik Zabel retained the green points jersey. Stage-winner Santiago Botero took over the polka-dot climbers jersey. Francisco Mancebo retained the under-25 white jersey. Banesto leads the team competition. | ALSO SEE Armstrong maintains Tour lead in the Alps Stage Fourteen results AUDIO/VIDEO   Santiago Botero sticks his chest out with pride as he crosses the finish line.avi: 2182 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Stage 14 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 Stage 15 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 | ||||||||||
