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Along for the ride Time trial not Armstrong's priority, says team directorPosted: Friday July 12, 2002 12:15 PMALENCON, France (Reuters) -- The Tour de France may have its first moment of truth with a 52-kilometer individual time trial Monday, but it is not a priority for Lance Armstrong. The American won all five long time trials on the way to victory in the last three Tours, but a loss this time between Lorient and Llanester in Brittany would not necessarily hamper his chances of overall success. "Most of the crucial mountain stages and the last time trial take place in the last week of the Tour," Armstrong's team director Johan Bruyneel said Friday. "As a result, our preparation was based on being strong in the last week, at the risk of sacrificing the first time trial," he added. The three times Tour champion appeared a little less dominant in individual timed efforts this season, losing to Spaniard Igor Gonzalez Galdeano in the Midi Libre and to Colombian Santiago Botero in the Dauphine Libere. The Texan U.S. Postal team leader eventually won both races, a scenario Bruyneel would like to see repeated. "He only did two long time trials this year, the one in the Midi Libre and the one in the Dauphine Libere," he said. "Each time, Lance lost to the better man on the day. "But he was not at his best level in either race and should be much stronger this time," he added. But the Belgian team director admitted Botero and Gonzalez Galdeano, who took the Tour lead Wednesday when his ONCE team won the team time trial, would again be the men to beat for his protege. Armstrong currently lies seven seconds behind the Spaniard in the overall standings while Botero is two minutes and seven seconds adrift of him. "They're the two most serious rivals for Lance, of course, but this is the Tour and I'm not saying he will win, but he should not be far away," Bruyneel said. He insisted a defeat would not be a big problem because "neither Botero or Gonzalez Galdeano ever took a second off Lance in the mountains." The rather indifferent approach to Monday's time trial was reflected in the fact that, unlike previous years, Armstrong and his teammates did not inspect the course with their usual care. "We checked it twice but it was a routine reconnaissance," said Bruyneel. "This is not where the Tour will be won or lost."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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