Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2004 list. *Warning: This may be a high-volume ping list at times during July 2004.
Posted on 07/22/2004 9:25:09 PM PDT by WhiteKnuckles
LE GRAND BORNAND, France (Reuters) - A ruthless Lance Armstrong refused to allow his rivals a consolation stage victory as he came from behind to outsprint German Andreas Kloeden in the last few meters of the 127-mile 17th stage of the Tour de France Thursday.
Armstrong's fourth win in the five mountain stages of this year's Tour -- he finished second in the other one -- underlined his dominance over his closest rivals as he seeks an unprecedented sixth successive Tour victory.
Germany's Jan Ullrich finished the stage third while Italian Ivan Basso, who beat Armstrong on the 12th stage, finished fourth and remains second overall, four minutes and nine seconds behind Armstrong with three days to go.
The U.S. Postal team leader, impressive in his time-trial at l'Alpe d'Huez Wednesday, could have been expected to let his rivals grab a consolation victory in the race's last mountain stage.
However, he refused to allow them the satisfaction and rode down Kloeden in the final meters to seal the 20th individual stage victory of his career, adding to two team time trial victories.
"No gifts this year for stage wins," said the American. "The Tour is too special for me. My condition is super and like everybody saw, the team was unbelievable today, they controlled everything. I had no problems," he added.
The last rider to have won three stages in the Alps in the same Tour was Italy's Gino Bartali in 1948.
The only other rider left with a chance to shine Thursday was France's Richard Virenque, who took advantage of the five climbs to secure a record seventh King of the Mountains jersey.
The last climb, the Croix de Fry, looked like a lap of honor for the 2004 Tour, with the top-four riders overall -- Armstrong, Basso, Kloeden and Ullrich -- in front, with Armstrong's team mate Floyd Landis opening the way for them.
Armstrong obviously wanted Landis to win but they were taken off guard when Kloeden surged in the last 1,968 feet but Armstrong refused to allow the German the victory and mercilessly rode him down in the final few meters.
Virenque, who won the 10th stage to St Flour, collected more than 50 points in Thursday's climbs and can not be beaten for the best climber's classification.
With seven polka-dot jerseys, the Quick Step team leader has now eclipsed Spaniard Federico Bahamontes, who won the Tour in 1959, and Belgian Lucien Van Impe, the Tour champion in 1976.
"It was important to score points today and I went for them with my guts," said Virenque. "Now I left my mark on the Tour de France.
"I don't know what I'll do next year but I've enjoyed this Tour."
On the other hand, he proved his superiority by totally wasting everyone on yesterday's individual time trial up l'Alpe d'Huez.
Speaking for myself....I would LOVE to have won that "silly" polka dot jersey....
King of the Mountain ...at this level of competition is NOT bean bag...
This is coming from an old fart that just about coughes up his heart in our gentle Santa Cruz Mountains along the coast...
Semper Fi
Only the French could call a bicyclist "Ruthless"
LOL!
Dubya would welcome Sheryl Crow like she was family
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2004 list. *Warning: This may be a high-volume ping list at times during July 2004.
Same here. As Phil Liggett said after Lance crossed the line: "Lance Armstrong does not know the word "defeat"!
Pretty incredible. Lance just bloody exploded in the last few meters.
Team Virenque (Quick.Step)
Photo ©: Caroline Yang
Lance, " stomped a mud puddle in their butts and then walked it dry." Don't Mess With The USA!!! Bush/Cheney 2004
And there you have it. This was personal, and very sweet, I suspect. The stuff about not giving away stage victories as gifts was BS. Hell, he gave Basso the stage win not a week ago.
This was about denying the German fans a stage win. You could feel their hearts drop across the Atlantic when he snatched the victory in the closing seconds.
Lance is back doing the same thing today. Antoher rider is suing Lance for "slander" (name is Simeoni, Lance supposedly called him a creep or something)-- well Simeoni tried to break away from the Pack this morning, and Lance left the safety of the Peleton to personally reel the guy back in, and it was clear from the animated conversation between Simeoni and Lance, that Armstrong told him "Don't even think of trying to win a stage punk".
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As Phil Liggett said after Lance crossed the line: "Lance Armstrong does not know the word "defeat"!
OTOH, the French do know the words "consolation" and "defeat".
Way to go Lance! liberals get upset, they run away. I hope he put a chicken hold on the creep.Bush/Cheney2004
I've never had the slightest problem with that climb on my bike. On the other hand, my bike is a Virago. :=)
It is pretty cool. I got into Paris yesterday. Not sure how many people have been to Paris, but the finish of the TDF is on the champs elysee. At the bottom of the champs elysee is the plaza de la Concorde. Which is where Hotel Crillon is located. It is a pretty nice hotel, it is next to the American Embassy. Needless to say, I was SHOCKED when they were flying the FLAG OF TEXAS on the top of the Crillon. Very cool. I would figure US Postal is staying there.
The lone star flying over La Place de la Concorde? LOL You've got to get us a photo of that.
Yea. I am going to get one before I leave....
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