U.S. Postal kicks into gear for crucial team time trial

Lance Armstrong will likely make his move over the next few days.
SAINT-DIZIER, France (AP) -- Content to play it cool while others sweated for wins in the early stages, Lance Armstrong's bid for a fifth consecutive Tour de France victory kicked into high gear.
Although he was just 69th in Tuesday's third stage, Armstrong's aim was to avoid crashing and conserve energy ahead of the time trial today and tough climbs up the Alps on Saturday.
Vying to equal Spain's Miguel Indurain as the only rider with five straight Tour titles, Armstrong joined his U.S. Postal team in a joint effort against the clock -- a 42.8-mile dash from Joinville back to Saint-Dizier.
Opportunity
The time trial offered the four-time champion from Texas a chance to gain time ahead of the weekend's crucial mountain stages that begin with Saturday's alpine climb at Morzine-Avoriaz.
Last year, the Postals finished second to the Spanish ONCE team by 16 seconds in the time trial. But Armstrong still won the Tour by a huge margin of 7 minutes, 17 seconds -- largely due to his phenomenal performances in the Alps and then the Pyrenees.
The time trial could be more a case of making a statement to the rest of the field, including archrival Jan Ullrich, who was five seconds ahead of 12th-place Armstrong in the overall standings.
Ullrich won the Tour in 1997 and finished runner-up four times -- twice to cancer survivor Armstrong in 2000 and 2001.
Ullrich said he was confident his Bianchi squad "will have a good chance" in the time trial. But Stephen Roche, the 1987 Tour winner, was not so sure.
"Frankly, we're worried for Ullrich," he said. "He could lose two good minutes on Lance Armstrong and U.S. Postal."
Psychological impact
Should the Postal team, which raced last of the 22 participating teams, win the time trial, the psychological impact on Armstrong's challengers could be significant.
"Lance can time-trial well and then match the best climbers in the mountains, or even beat them," said Tyler Hamilton, a former teammate of Armstrong's. "He has this incredible pain threshold. He reaches his limit and then just holds it there."
Armstrong, as much a student of race tactics as he is a fearsome competitor, felt racing last today would help.
"It's a huge advantage," said Armstrong, whose team spent part of Tuesday night studying the course. Armstrong was able to see where opponents struggled and develop a strategy.
In Tuesday's third of 20 stages -- which saw Rene Haselbacher of the Gerolsteiner crash near the finish -- Armstrong finished one place behind teammate George Hincapie.
Injuries
Neither wished to commit too hard after suffering slight injuries in Sunday's opening stage, when about 35 riders fell near the finish line.
Alessandro Petacchi's win Tuesday, on a largely flat 103.9-mile route from Charleville-Mezieres to Saint-Dizier, was his second stage victory of the Tour.
"I'm starting to get into form," said the 29-year-old Petacchi, who competes for the Italian Fassa Bortolo team.
Petacchi edged Romans Vainsteins, a Latvian, and Spain's Oscar Freire, and crossed in 3 hours, 27 minutes, 39 seconds. He also won Sunday's first stage.
Haselbacher crashed as riders pedaled furiously in the final sprint. Doctors treated the Austrian by the side of the road, but he completed the race.
French rider Jean-Patrick Nazon, who finished 14th, took the yellow jersey, the first Frenchman since Francois Simon in 2001 to hold an overall lead.
"People will remember that I'm the first French rider in a yellow jersey at this centennial," said Nazon, of the French Jean Delatour team.
Improving
Hamilton, wearing heavy bandaging across his torso to protect the right collarbone he broke in Sunday's pileup, said his spirits were improving despite lingering pain.
"I'm a little beat up right now, still pretty sore," he said moments after receiving a 90-minute massage. "But hopefully in a week or so, I'll be about 90-95 percent."
Before the injury, Hamilton was considered another of Armstrong's potential rivals. He was 10th overall -- and says he is not just riding for the sake of it.
"I'm not here just to finish the Tour," he said. "I've finished six Tours, so I've been there and done that. I'm here to contribute and help the team."
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