Sunday, July 16 Notes from Courchevel
	By Andrew Hood ABC Sports Online Lance no parlez Francais Unlike many Americans who race in Europe, Lance Armstrong has made little effort to blend in with the local culture. Despite living several seasons in Nice, France, Armstrong speaks very little French. When French TV asks Armstrong questions in French, Armstrong almost always answers in English. And that really grates the French. "If he at least tried to speak French I am certain he would gain in popularity among the French people," said Tour de France director general Jean-Marie Leblanc.     A spectator dressed as the devil cheers on the peleton on Sunday. Three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond, however, remains very popular among the French public. He was the first American to ingratiate himself into the European cycling culture in the 1980s. Lemond always raced with French and Belgian teams and quickly became fluent in French. Armstrong, however, has spent most of his career on American teams. He raced with Motorola in the early 1990s and signed with the French Cofidis team at the end of the 1996 season just before he was diagnosed with cancer but never rode with the team. He since joined the U.S. Postal Service team in 1998. Zülle throws in the towel Swiss rider Alex Zülle thought this was going to be the year he could win the Tour de France. The 31-year-old Banesto rider finished second behind Armstrong last year and second behind Miguel Indurain in 1995, and sacrificed his entire season to prepare solely for the Tour. A two-time winner of the three-week Tour of Spain, Zülle had hopes of stepping one place higher on the podium. But things have not gone well for bespectacled, sometimes nervous rider. Zulle was furious at his Banesto teammates when they finished nearly four minutes behind the U.S. Postal Service team in the team time trial at stage four. Things completely fell apart in Saturday's climbing stage to Briancon. He lost contact with the leading group, lost more than 14 minutes to Armstrong and fell from 11th to 23rd overall. Sunday was even worse ? "That was as bad a day as I ever had in the Tour de France," Zülle said in Briancon. "I spent the whole stage trying to catch the leaders but just couldn't do it. Last year I was second, but other years I have finished way back. I can't understand it. It doesn't make sense to me. This is my ninth Tour but it's the last time I will plan my whole season around the race." Cyclo-terrorists strike Who was that man in the yellow jersey pipping Richard Virenque at the finish line? It certainly wasn't Lance Armstrong throwing his arms in the air. Cyclo-terrorists hit the Tour de France on Sunday as two over-zealous fans jumped on their bikes in the final kilometer to the finish and rode across the finish line. One was clad in a full Kelme jersey with a number-plate and the other was wearing the race leader's yellow jersey. No news on whether they were awarded a place in the overall standings or hauled off to jail. Clean so far The UCI announced that doping tests through the first nine stages of the Tour de France have not turned up any negatives. Three riders were kicked out before the Tour started on July 1 for failing blood tests. Several riders are tested daily, including the race leader, the stage winner and two or three randoms. How they fared: How the Tour favorites finished in Sunday's stage and where they stand in the overall classification: Lance Armstrong: Finished 4th at 50" behind winner Marco Pantani; 1st overall. Jan Ullrich: Finished 15th at 3'21" behind Pantani; 2nd overall at 7'26" Marco Pantani: Won the stage; 6th overall at 9'03" Richard Virenque: Finished 10th at 2'21" behind Pantani; 7th overall at 9'57" Laurent Jalabert: Finished 94th at 35'56" behind Pantani; 57th overall at 1h18'06" Alex Zülle: Finished 106th at 35'56' behind Pantani; 37th overall at 57'07" Bobby Julich: Finished 45th at 27'17" behind Pantani; 49th overall at 1h07'40" Chann McRae: Abandoned the Tour at stage 12. Four riders abandoned, including stage-six winner Leon Van Bon. 137 riders remain in the Tour. The jerseys: Lance Armstrong retained the overall leaders yellow jersey. Erik Zabel retained the green points jersey. Santiago Botero retained the polka-dot climbers jersey. Francisco Mancebo retained the under-25 white jersey. Banesto leads the team competition. Tomorrow's stage: The peloton takes its second rest day of the 2000 Tour de France.		ALSO SEE Pantani gains little ground on Armstrong Insurmountable? Amstrong's lead grows at Tour Stage Fifteen results Alex Zülle furious with teammates EPO tests to be saved Armstrong tired of incessant doping talk Riders sent home AUDIO/VIDEO  Marco Pantani powers his way to win Stage 15. avi: 1238 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  Stage 15 course map RealVideo: 28.8