TOUR DE FRANCE Climb takes toll on Armstrong's legs

The American didn't win the stage, but he did assume the overall lead.
L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong didn't even have to be in top form to take the lead in the Tour de France.
After grabbing the leader's yellow jersey for the first time with a third-place finish Sunday in a sun-drenched Alpine climb, the Texan said he had concerns about his form.
"I'm perhaps not as strong as in previous years," Armstrong acknowledged after the eighth stage -- a 135.78-mile mountain slog won by Spain's Iban Mayo.
With another punishing mountain ascent today and four more later in the Pyrenees, the four-time champion remains the favorite -- but not necessarily an overwhelming one.
"I didn't have the greatest sensation, the greatest legs today," the 31-year-old cancer survivor said. "Let's hope things get better and not worse."
A chink in the armor?
"It was no bluff today, it was a tough, long day," he said.
No breeze
Armstrong, who devoured the notorious L'Alpe d'Huez -- and his opponents -- in 2001, found the same climb more of a foe than a friend Sunday.
"If you'd asked me a month ago are you going to suffer like that on L'Alpe d'Huez I would have said, 'No way!' " he said. "I had some issues at the start of the Tour that weren't ideal for coming into the race."
Those issues included a bout of gastroenteritis that had upset his race preparations, according to Jogi Muller, the team's spokesman. Although Armstrong said he's feeling better, he is not exactly sounding the battle cry either.
In today's ninth stage, a 114.39-mile trek from Bourg d'Oisans to Gap, Armstrong might face adversity on two fronts.
Rivals now know he is vulnerable to unanticipated attacks -- Sunday's performance showed that even he can be ruffled -- and he must keep his racing sense in tact to negotiate two climbs exceeding 6,600 feet.
Looking ahead, Armstrong will have a relatively flat stage Tuesday, ending in the seaport of Marseille, and a rest day Wednesday.
An individual, 29.14-mile, time trial Friday leads into four days of Pyrenees climbs -- considered as difficult as their Alpine counterparts.
Armstrong is fast enough to make up any deficit -- should he be overtaken before Friday -- in a time trial. Yet he may need to go doubly quick in order to bank some time-in-hand for the grueling Pyrenees.
In Sunday's eighth stage, Armstrong couldn't match Mayo's infernal pace in the legendary L'Alpe d'Huez climb.
Mayo dominated the duel to win in 5 hours, 57 minutes, 30 seconds.
Kazakhstan rider Alexandre Vinokourov was second, 1:45 behind Mayo. Armstrong, who accepted he'd "definitely" attacked too early, finished 2:12 behind the winner.
The stage, which started in Sallanches, included the awesome Col du Galibier, which towers at 8,728 feet.
The punishing climb sent Armstrong a message that it would be a tough day in the saddle.
"It was a really hard stage from the start," Armstrong said. "The whole pack attacked."
Armstrong failed to shake one of his key rivals, Joseba Beloki of Spain, on the final 8.5-mile battle to the finish line at L'Alpe d'Huez.
"The attack by Beloki was very strong," conceded Armstrong.
Beloki was second overall, 40 seconds behind Armstrong. Mayo was third, 1:10 behind.
"A dream has become reality," said Mayo after his win. "L'Alpe d'Huez is a mythic stage."