Today's Stage
BRIANÇON, France, July 13 - Lance Armstrong had priorities today in the Tour de France and Alexandre Vinokourov was not among them when he went on a long breakaway over two major mountains in the Alps nor when he won the daily stage.
"A guy six or seven minutes behind, we're not going to worry about that," Armstrong said when the day was done. "He definitely wasn't our concern today. We have to prioritize and he wasn't on our list of priorities."
What was?
"Just to stay together and ride conservatively," Armstrong answered. "You can't pass two climbs like that and say it was an easy day, but we wanted to be conservative and relaxed and we were."
Asked beforehand what Armstrong's Discovery Channel riders expected during the stage, Johan Bruyneel, the team's director, patiently said, "Attacks, then more attacks."
That was obvious after the blowout Tuesday in the first Alpine stage, in which Armstrong regained the race leader's yellow jersey.
As he seeks his seventh consecutive Tour victory certainly Armstrong's rivals would try to regain time. And it was more obvious because of the mountains ahead today, the last big climbing day until Saturday.
First was the Madeleine, 25.4 kilometers to climb at a grade of 6.1 percent, and rated beyond category in terms of length, steepness and general difficulty. Next came the Telegraph, 12 kilometers at 6.7 percent, rated first category, a notch below beyond category.
The pièce de résistance was the Galibier, beyond category with 17.5 kilometers to climb at a grade of 6.9 percent amid desolate fields full of scree and boulders.
Despite the obstacles, Vinokourov is a proud man, as a Hero of Labor (Second Class) in his native Kazakhstan has every right to be. So, after he and his T-Mobile team were blown out of the water in the first Alpine stage, he vowed that "the race is not yet lost."
He might be right, but more likely he is wrong. Whatever, Vinokourov recaptured some luster for himself and his team by going on the offensive.
"We had a lot of problems yesterday," Vinokourov admitted after he crossed the finish line. "This will give a lot of morale back to the team."
He lost 5 minutes 18 seconds on Tuesday, while the two other main T-Mobile riders, Jan Ullrich and Andreas Klöden, lost 2:14.
All three riders were among the stage leaders today after the 173-kilometer, or 107-mile, jaunt from Courchevel to Briançon in cool and sometimes drizzly weather.
By winning, Vinokourov showed the form that enabled him to finish third in the 2003 Tour and to win both one-day classics and short multiday races throughout his eight-year career as a professional.
He finished in 4 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds, a speed of 36 kilometers an hour, and won a sprint finish with his final companion of the breakaway, Santiago Botero, a Colombian with Phonak and a rider for T-Mobile for the previous two years.
Botero was one second behind. One minute 15 seconds after Vinokourov, a group of major riders crossed the line. They included Armstrong and everybody else in the top 10 overall.
That left the American 38 seconds ahead of Mickael Rasmussen, a Dane with Rabobank, and 2:34 ahead of Christophe Moreau, a Frenchman with Crédit Agricole, in third place among the 167 remaining riders.
Among the casualties today was Jens Voigt, a German with CSC, who wore the yellow jersey at the start of the stage Tuesday and lost more than 31 minutes. He struggled again today and finished so far behind - more than 46 minutes - that he was eliminated on time differential with the winner.
Voigt was the second CSC rider to have worn the jersey and then left the race. The first was Dave Zibriskie, an American, who won the opening time trial July 2, crashed heavily three days later and had to withdraw on Sunday because of his injuries.
In forging his victory, Vinokourov and six fellow travelers joined an early attack at Kilometer 27 and headed toward the climbs over the Madeleine, the Telegraph and the Galibier, king of mountains.
Since Vinokourov was 6:32 behind at the start of this 11th of 21 daily stages, and since Discovery Channel cannot chase after every attack, the decision to let the Kazkh go was a tactical move, as Armstrong explained.
In the end, Vinokourov moved up from 16th place to 12th, still 4:47 behind, and Botero, a good if erratic climber and time-trialer, ascended from 11th place to sixth, 3:48 behind.
It seemed a cheap price to pay for Armstrong and his teammates - once again giving him strong support at the front of the chasing group - for a relatively quiet day.
"If his goal was to win the stage, mission accomplished," Armstrong said. "If his goal was to blow up Discovery Channel, mission not accomplished."
The Galibier is a hallowed climb and not only because it includes a monument to Henri Desgrange, who staged the first Tour de France in 1903.
The race has been run every year since then except during both world wars and this is its 92nd edition.
By passing first over the peak, Vinokourov collected a prize of a tidy 5.000 euros, or $6,000 and change, and a round of applause from a huge crowd shivering in the mountain air.
The Galibier has always attracted spectators, many of whom used to print riders' names with rocks in the glaciers that lined the climb, even in July. There are still millions of rocks, but where are the snows of yesteryear? Gone, all gone.
Spectators once used to fill the roads on their bicycles, too, pedaling up the climb hours ahead of the riders so they could say they had done it. This year, at least, amateur climbers were as rare as the occasional herd of cattle put out to summer pasture down below the tree line.
The world changes but, as Desgrange would surely have said, the Tour goes on.
</NYT_TEXT>
Samuel Abt New York Times
BRIANÇON, France, July 13 - Lance Armstrong had priorities today in the Tour de France and Alexandre Vinokourov was not among them when he went on a long breakaway over two major mountains in the Alps nor when he won the daily stage.
"A guy six or seven minutes behind, we're not going to worry about that," Armstrong said when the day was done. "He definitely wasn't our concern today. We have to prioritize and he wasn't on our list of priorities."
What was?
"Just to stay together and ride conservatively," Armstrong answered. "You can't pass two climbs like that and say it was an easy day, but we wanted to be conservative and relaxed and we were."
Asked beforehand what Armstrong's Discovery Channel riders expected during the stage, Johan Bruyneel, the team's director, patiently said, "Attacks, then more attacks."
That was obvious after the blowout Tuesday in the first Alpine stage, in which Armstrong regained the race leader's yellow jersey.
As he seeks his seventh consecutive Tour victory certainly Armstrong's rivals would try to regain time. And it was more obvious because of the mountains ahead today, the last big climbing day until Saturday.
First was the Madeleine, 25.4 kilometers to climb at a grade of 6.1 percent, and rated beyond category in terms of length, steepness and general difficulty. Next came the Telegraph, 12 kilometers at 6.7 percent, rated first category, a notch below beyond category.
The pièce de résistance was the Galibier, beyond category with 17.5 kilometers to climb at a grade of 6.9 percent amid desolate fields full of scree and boulders.
Despite the obstacles, Vinokourov is a proud man, as a Hero of Labor (Second Class) in his native Kazakhstan has every right to be. So, after he and his T-Mobile team were blown out of the water in the first Alpine stage, he vowed that "the race is not yet lost."
He might be right, but more likely he is wrong. Whatever, Vinokourov recaptured some luster for himself and his team by going on the offensive.
"We had a lot of problems yesterday," Vinokourov admitted after he crossed the finish line. "This will give a lot of morale back to the team."
He lost 5 minutes 18 seconds on Tuesday, while the two other main T-Mobile riders, Jan Ullrich and Andreas Klöden, lost 2:14.
All three riders were among the stage leaders today after the 173-kilometer, or 107-mile, jaunt from Courchevel to Briançon in cool and sometimes drizzly weather.
By winning, Vinokourov showed the form that enabled him to finish third in the 2003 Tour and to win both one-day classics and short multiday races throughout his eight-year career as a professional.
He finished in 4 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds, a speed of 36 kilometers an hour, and won a sprint finish with his final companion of the breakaway, Santiago Botero, a Colombian with Phonak and a rider for T-Mobile for the previous two years.
Botero was one second behind. One minute 15 seconds after Vinokourov, a group of major riders crossed the line. They included Armstrong and everybody else in the top 10 overall.
That left the American 38 seconds ahead of Mickael Rasmussen, a Dane with Rabobank, and 2:34 ahead of Christophe Moreau, a Frenchman with Crédit Agricole, in third place among the 167 remaining riders.
Among the casualties today was Jens Voigt, a German with CSC, who wore the yellow jersey at the start of the stage Tuesday and lost more than 31 minutes. He struggled again today and finished so far behind - more than 46 minutes - that he was eliminated on time differential with the winner.
Voigt was the second CSC rider to have worn the jersey and then left the race. The first was Dave Zibriskie, an American, who won the opening time trial July 2, crashed heavily three days later and had to withdraw on Sunday because of his injuries.
In forging his victory, Vinokourov and six fellow travelers joined an early attack at Kilometer 27 and headed toward the climbs over the Madeleine, the Telegraph and the Galibier, king of mountains.
Since Vinokourov was 6:32 behind at the start of this 11th of 21 daily stages, and since Discovery Channel cannot chase after every attack, the decision to let the Kazkh go was a tactical move, as Armstrong explained.
In the end, Vinokourov moved up from 16th place to 12th, still 4:47 behind, and Botero, a good if erratic climber and time-trialer, ascended from 11th place to sixth, 3:48 behind.
It seemed a cheap price to pay for Armstrong and his teammates - once again giving him strong support at the front of the chasing group - for a relatively quiet day.
"If his goal was to win the stage, mission accomplished," Armstrong said. "If his goal was to blow up Discovery Channel, mission not accomplished."
The Galibier is a hallowed climb and not only because it includes a monument to Henri Desgrange, who staged the first Tour de France in 1903.
The race has been run every year since then except during both world wars and this is its 92nd edition.
By passing first over the peak, Vinokourov collected a prize of a tidy 5.000 euros, or $6,000 and change, and a round of applause from a huge crowd shivering in the mountain air.
The Galibier has always attracted spectators, many of whom used to print riders' names with rocks in the glaciers that lined the climb, even in July. There are still millions of rocks, but where are the snows of yesteryear? Gone, all gone.
Spectators once used to fill the roads on their bicycles, too, pedaling up the climb hours ahead of the riders so they could say they had done it. This year, at least, amateur climbers were as rare as the occasional herd of cattle put out to summer pasture down below the tree line.
The world changes but, as Desgrange would surely have said, the Tour goes on.
</NYT_TEXT>
Samuel Abt New York Times
More importantly, does anyone actually give a fuck about cycling? If it wasn't for Lance Armstrong, the Tour De France would be in the news twice: The first story would read, "Tour De France Kicks Off Today..."
the other would read, "_______ Wins Tour De France."
I have all the respect in the world for Armstrong and think what he has accomplished is remarkable, to say the least, but I personally cannot wait for him to retire just so I don't have to hear people discussing cycling ever again. Hardly anyone actually cares or follows it, so I'll be glad when I don't have to listen to that crap anymore.
Uh, go Lance though...? Provided he's not on steroids, in which case my entire opinion of him will change.
the other would read, "_______ Wins Tour De France."
I have all the respect in the world for Armstrong and think what he has accomplished is remarkable, to say the least, but I personally cannot wait for him to retire just so I don't have to hear people discussing cycling ever again. Hardly anyone actually cares or follows it, so I'll be glad when I don't have to listen to that crap anymore.
Uh, go Lance though...? Provided he's not on steroids, in which case my entire opinion of him will change.
Many cycling greats have lived in Lance's shadow over the last few years. If it were not for Lance's total dominance, we would have probably seen 2 Ulrich victories and 4 other winners ( Vinokourov, Beloki, Basso and Kloden) and <!--StartFragment -->over the last 6 tours.<!--StartFragment -->
As for SkinsRaj28's comment 'does anyone actually give a fuck about cycling?'
Cycling is not Lance Armstong and it is not just the TdF. It is a passion second only to football in most of Europe.
As for SkinsRaj28's comment 'does anyone actually give a fuck about cycling?'
Cycling is not Lance Armstong and it is not just the TdF. It is a passion second only to football in most of Europe.
