Saturday, July 19, 2003
The American is 21 seconds ahead of Alexandre Vinokourov.
MARSEILLE, France (AP) -- Ahead of the pack at the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong can't help but peek over his shoulder.
The four-time champion held the overall lead by a handful of seconds following Tuesday's 10th stage. He is by no means clear of the chasing pack just a few days before Friday's individual time trials.
"It may be the most important time trial I've ever done," said Armstrong, who finished 45th Tuesday and is going for his record-tying fifth straight Tour victory.
"I've been focusing a lot on the time trial this year in terms of training," Armstrong said. "I know the course pretty well."
All about timing
Showing signs of vulnerability in this year's centennial Tour -- Armstrong was seriously challenged in the recent Alpine stages -- he needs a good time trial more than usual. After Friday, Armstrong faces four grueling stages in the Pyrenees.
A good performance in Friday's 29-mile race against the clock would give him a crucial time advantage to take into the mountains.
"Lance usually makes a strong showing right from the start in the Alps, as if to say to his rivals, 'You've got to come and beat me,' " said Stephen Roche, a Tour winner in 1987.
"But the fact he didn't means he couldn't do it. Don't forget -- Armstrong is a year older now," Roche added.
Armstrong is seeking to tie Spain's Miguel Indurain as the only cyclist ever to win cycling's showcase event five times in a row.
Three others, Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil and Belgium's Eddy Merckx, have also won five Tours -- but none did so consecutively.
Needed rest
With a rest day today to recover from a strenuous first half of the Tour -- so far Armstrong has crashed, had technical difficulties with his bike and problems with his racing shoes -- the 31-year-old heads into Thursday's 11th stage just 21 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov overall.
Spain's Iban Mayo is only 1 minute, 2 seconds behind Armstrong, while Germany's Jan Ullrich -- reputed as a rider who gets stronger in the second half of the race -- is 2:10 back in sixth place overall.
"Vinokourov is looking really good this year and I think he can win it," said Australian rider Baden Cooke.
In Tuesday's 10th stage, Armstrong finished in a large pack of riders who completed the 136-mile stage from Gap to the southern port city of Marseille way behind the winner, Denmark's Jakob Piil of Team CSC.
However, all of Armstrong's key rivals finished with him, meaning they did not gain time on the champion.