COURCHEVEL, France -- Two faces. One was Lance Armstrong's,
steely but almost serene as he pedaled furiously in the thin
mountain air. The other was a mask of pain worn by Jan Ullrich, his
great German rival trailing farther and farther behind.
Armstrong took a giant step toward a seventh consecutive Tour de
France victory with a dominant ride Tuesday on the first Alpine
climb of this year's race, retaking the overall lead -- which he
could hold all the way to the finish in Paris on July 24.
At the top of the snaking, crowd-lined final climb to the ski
station of Courchevel, the American was beaten to the line by
Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde, a 25-year-old who Armstrong says
could be the next big thing in cycling after he retires at the end
of this Tour.
But the second-place finish was just fine. Riders Armstrong
regards as his main threats, including Ullrich, were way behind,
still laboring as he and Valverde clasped hands in the saddle in
mutual recognition.
They covered the 111-mile 10th stage in 4 hours, 50 minutes, 35
seconds. Because of a protest at the start by farmers angry over
wolf attacks on their sheep and cows, organizers shortened the race
by more than 9 miles, beginning it after the town of Froges, near
the city of Grenoble.
Mickael Rasmussen crossed the finish line third and Spain's
Francisco Mancebo was fourth, both 9 seconds back. Along with
Valverde, they were the only riders who managed to stay with
Armstrong on the final ascent.
The ride silenced doubts that Armstrong is too old at 33, or too
jaded after his record six victories, to win again. If he follows
the pattern of previous Tours, he might not relinquish the leader's
yellow jersey that he already wore for five days last week.
"Today, I had good legs," Armstrong said. "We are in a good
position with regard to some of the main rivals, so we'll have to
protect that and that might mean protecting the jersey and
hopefully retiring in it. But we'll see, there's still a lot of
racing to go."
Overall, Armstrong leads Rasmussen by 38 seconds. While he does
not regard himself as a challenger to Armstrong, the Dane has shown
himself enough of a threat on climbs -- he won the ninth stage with
a gutsy solo ride over six ascents -- to warrant the Texan's
attention.
"He's a damn good climber and we have to watch him now,"
Armstrong said.
Italian Ivan Basso, among the challengers left behind by
Armstrong on the 13.8-mile final ascent, was 1:02 behind in fifth
place Tuesday -- his overall deficit to Armstrong growing to 2:40.
Ullrich, the 1997 winner and a five-time runner-up, dropped
behind about halfway up the climb, grimacing and puffing, when
Armstrong's new Ukrainian teammate Yaroslav Popovych upped the
already punishing pace -- shaking off a tumble earlier in the stage
when he collided with a car from rival Team CSC.
"He REALLY accelerated," Armstrong said. "That was a sprint.
He had a serious crash and came back and didn't even think about
it."
Ullrich, perhaps feeling the effects of a crash of his own in
the ninth stage, struggled to the finish line in 13th place, 2:14
back, his overall deficit to Armstrong growing to 4:02. Ullrich's
teammate, Andreas Kloeden, runner-up last year when Armstrong won
his record sixth crown, fell to 4:16 behind overall.
The biggest surprise was the collapse of Alexandre Vinokourov,
another Ullrich teammate from Kazakhstan who had been expected to
seriously challenge Armstrong but who trailed Tuesday by 5:18 in
24th place. Vinokourov, third in 2003, is a whopping 6:32 back of
Armstrong overall.
Armstrong said he expects them to bounce back.
"I don't think they are finished. I am going to be the last
person to write them off," he said. "They are going to make life
difficult and we'll continue to watch them and continue to respect
them."
Valverde, racing his first Tour, is 3:16 behind Armstrong.
"A guy like him -- I'm not blowing smoke -- could be the future
of cycling. He's a complete rider, a smart rider and a patient
rider," said Armstrong, who added that he "gave everything I
had" to try to beat the Spaniard in the final sprint.
"I attacked and couldn't go any harder, he's a fast guy," he
said. "I wanted the stage win because I haven't won a race yet
this year. I'm trying."
Armstrong goes into the hardest Alpine stage, a 107.5-mile trek
Wednesday over three famed ascents, with the added benefit of
knowing his Discovery Channel teammates are back on their game
after a surprise bad day last week. The Discovery riders poured on
the pace in the first section of Tuesday's final ascent, whittling
down the field.
"Real champions," said Armstrong. "I would give the team an
A."
Notes
• Because of a protest at the start by farmers angry over wolf
attacks on sheep and cows, organizers shortened the route by 8.7
miles, beginning the race just after the town of Froges, near the
Alpine city of Grenoble.
That cut the run to the ski station of Courchevel to 110.9 miles
instead of 119.6-miles. The route included two major climbs,
including a long uphill finish, that were expected to show which of
the main riders are on top form and start separating pretenders
from genuine contenders.
• Russian Evgeni Petrov was expelled from the race before
Tuesday's stage after he failed a blood test.
The Lampre cyclist was among 33 riders given a blood test
Tuesday morning by cycling's governing body. All but Petrov were
allowed to continue, organizers said.