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Holding ground Armstrong keeps 5:37 lead as Dekker wins Stage 17
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- After what he called his "hardest day" ever on a bike, Lance Armstrong had a comfortable ride Wednesday on the 17th stage of the Tour de France into Switzerland and moved another step closer to retaining his champion's crown. Armstrong finished 35th, clocking the same time in a furious sprint as stage winner Erik Dekker of the Netherlands. Jan Ullrich, the only rider with a remote chance of catching Armstrong, had the same time and finished 29th. The U.S. Postal leader's position was never threatened throughout the 155-kilometer (96-mile) race along the shores of Lake Geneva, as he stayed easily within the pack alongside his closest challengers. Ullrich of Germany's Deutsche Telekom remained in second place, still five minutes, 37 seconds behind the American with just three stages to go before Sunday's final stage in Paris. Armstrong and the race's eight other top riders passed a surprise blood test taken Wednesday in their hotel rooms, the first test of its kind on this year's Tour. It marked the latest step taken by the International Cycling Union to restore public confidence in the integrity of the competition following a scandal-plagued Tour in 1998, when several top riders quit or were expelled for taking banned performance-enhancing drugs. The stage winner and the holder of the yellow jersey are systematically administered a urine test after each stage. Dekker had tears in his eyes after winning Wednesday's stage. "I was extremely confident because of my previous wins in these circumstances," said Dekker, who had already won two split-second finishes during the three-week race. "Once I broke clear I didn't even look back to see what was going on behind me," he said. "I had no idea who had finished behind me until I saw the results sheet." Dekker edged out Erik Zabel of Telekom and little-known Fred Rodriguez, an American riding for the Italian Mapei team, in the vanguard of a crowded finishing line. 56 racers were credited with Dekker's finishing time. "Nothing's changed. My goal's still exactly the same -- to win the Tour again," said Armstrong, the Texas native who overcame testicular cancer to win cycling's premier event in 1999. Beneath blazing sunny skies, the riders went from the French southern shore of Lake Geneva into the nearby foothills of the Alps before a frantic race downhill to Lausanne, the Swiss home of the International Olympic Committee on the lake's northern shore. Missing from the pack was Marco Pantani, the diminutive, bald Italian who won the Tour in 1998 but withdrew from this year's race overnight while in 14th place. Pantani blamed mysterious intestinal pains for his decision. Other riders suggested it might have more to do with his fading performance Tuesday during the competition's last major mountain-climbing stage -- the last real chance for Pantani, a poor sprinter, to narrow Armstrong's lead before Paris. Armstrong, who exchanged harsh words with Pantani last week after allowing him to win a mountain stage, said he shed no tears about his rival's departure. He pointedly referred to Pantani -- and his jug ears -- as "the Elephant," a nickname that the Italian has sought to shed in recent years. "Elefantino is a different man. I don't think anybody fully understands his motivations," Armstrong said when asked about Pantani's withdrawal. "It's his problem. He's not my brother." Massimiliano Lelli of Italy led the pack during Wednesday's toughest challenge, a steep climb to the top of the 1,445-meter (4,770-foot) Col de Mosses east of Lake Geneva. But a gaggle of pursuers eventually swallowed up Lelli on the downhill side. The Col de Mosses also claimed one of he competition's home favorites, Alex Zulle of Switzerland, who quit shortly before reaching the summit. The 32-year-old rider finished second behind Armstrong in 1999 but this year had struggled, starting Wednesday in 47th place and 86 minutes behind the leader. Lelli's teammate on Cofidis, Chris Peers of Belgium, also quit the race before reaching Lausanne. In all, just 130 riders among the 180 who started the race July 1 remained at Wednesday's finish. The lone American-sponspored team, U.S. Postal, is the only one with all nine members in the saddle.
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