Thursday, July 13 Lance relaxed so far
	By Andrew Hood ABC Sports Online VILLENEUVE-SUR-LOT, France -- Defending Tour champion Lance Armstrong says he's "relaxed" so far after the opening week of the 2000 Tour. "These stages have been difficult and very windy," Armstrong said. "They're hard, but I feel OK."     Lance Armstrong is not worried yet. Armstrong crossed the line 66th with the main bunch on Saturday, 5:42 behind stage-winner Erik Dekker. Several riders in the break moved ahead of Armstrong in the overall standings, but he didn't lose any time to race leader Alberto Elli. Armstrong now sits in 16th overall, 5:54 behind Elli. Keeping Armstrong out of trouble is the top goal for the United States Postal team in the Tour's opening week. So far, it's been mission accomplished. "We try to have the team as comfortable as possible in these flat stages," said U.S. Postal's directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel. "It's always nervous. Everyone is fighting for position, trying to stay out of the wind, trying to avoid crashes. It's more than the physical effort that's taxing. It's the mental aspect. It's very stressful." If Armstrong says he's relaxed, it's because he is. Last year, Armstrong had the pressure of wearing the yellow jersey early in the race. This year, other riders have taken the early lead while he remains lurking in their shadows. "He is going well. He's relaxed and he needs to be relaxed. It's good to be relaxed in these opening stages," Bruyneel said. "If you're getting nervous now, that's not good for later in the race when it gets real serious." Clean so far The International Cycling Union announced that all doping tests from the first three days of the Tour have turned up negative. Three racers were kicked out of cycling's marquee event just a few hours before the Tour started last weekend after failing blood tests. This year, Tour riders are facing a new urine test which will be able to detect the presence of EPO, or erythropoetin, which enhances endurance by increasing the production of oxygen-rich, red blood cells in the body. Urine samples are being taken daily from that day's stage-winner and race leader, as well as two or three randomly selected riders. They will be frozen and then tested once the ICU, cycling's governing body, gives formal approval to the test. Lance to ride lightweight bike Just as Lance Armstrong is riding a specially designed bike in the time trial stages in this year's Tour de France, he'll be riding a lightweight bike in the mountain stages. The frame is made of strands of carbon fiber bound together. The mountain-stage bike is made of a stronger strand of carbon fiber, allowing bike designers to use 110 strands of carbon fiber per square meter instead of 120 strands on his other bikes. The frame comes in weighing 200 grams less, and the entire bike -- with special lightweight titanium components -- weighs two pounds less than Armstrong's typical road bike. That's a big difference when it comes to climbing up thousands of feet on Europe's steepest roads. Armstrong will use it during Monday's stage in the Pyrénées and later on Mont Ventoux and in the Alps. Lightweight bikes for the mountain stages are nothing new in the Tour de France, but Armstrong didn't have one last year. During the Pyrénées last year, U.S. Postal's directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel yelled to Armstrong on the radio, "They're getting their special bikes." Armstrong yelled back, "Don't worry, I could beat these guys on my mountain bike." In April, Armstrong called Michael Mayer, technical specialist for Trek, and said he wanted a bike especially for the mountains. The company, based in Waterloo, Wisc., was already busy working on special time trial bikes for Armstrong. "We dialed things in with Lance. He's very knowledgeable about the bikes. He gives a lot of input to our engineers and designers," Mayer said. Armstrong liked the lightweight bikes so much he insisted his two lieutenants in the mountains, Tyler Hamilton and Kevin Livingston, also ride them. Mayer said the bike will be available to the public later this year. Dekker in mountain jersey Dekker was first over all four rated climbs in Saturday's stage and took over the polka-dot climbers jersey. Elli remains the overall leader. German Marcel Wust led the peloton across the line to retain his green points jersey while Italian Salvatore Commesso is still wearing the under-25 young rider's jersey. Sunday's stage The 87th Tour continues on Sunday with a 181-kilometer (112-mile) ninth stage from Agen to Dax. It's a rolling flat stage with no rated climbs.		ALSO SEE Dekker takes Tour's 8th stage; Armstrong looms Armstrong returns to Limoges Tour de France results