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Open Tour Armstrong vulnerable as Tour approaches halfway markPosted: Tuesday July 16, 2002 11:17 AM
BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) -- As it approaches the halfway stage, the 2002 Tour de France looks to be the most open for years with the once invincible Lance Armstrong giving off an air of vulnerability. Champion for the last three years, Armstrong on Monday suffered his first defeat in a long distance time trial on the Tour since he returned to the sport after a battle with a near-fatal cancer. With a wider field of rivals for the coveted leaders' yellow jersey in this year's version of the world's biggest cycling race, the American finds himself in the unfamiliar role of challenger. For the last three years, German Jan Ullrich and Italian Marco Pantani were the Texan's only serious opponents. But with both of them absent, riders who were forced to play second fiddle in the past have moved up to fill the gap. Armstrong's first heavy defeat in four Tours combined with other little omens -- the American nearly crashed for the first time this week -- might give his rivals a confidence they might not have had at the start. "For the first time in many years, we have the impression he can be beaten and it's a very important fact ahead of the mountains," said current Tour leader Igor Gonzalez Galdeano of Spain. But Armstrong has not yet conceded defeat. "We're still in a good position. If you compare how I'm placed compared with other climbers, I've still got a good cushion," he said. Still, he is now a challenger while Gonzalez Galdeano, who has worn the yellow jersey for a week, Joseba Beloki and Monday's time trial winner Santiago Botero all seem in a position of strength. The American's victory in the prologue in Luxembourg may also be seen as a desire to impress early on as he was not feeling as strong as in previous years. Tactics But the real question mark lies in the tactical plan being played out by the American. Did he sacrifice the first time trial of the Tour to better concentrate on the gruelling final week featuring most of the big climbs and the last time trial of the Tour? Armstrong hinted that it might be the case and his U.S. Postal team director Johan Bruyneel sounded full of confidence for the rest of the Tour. Despite his loss to Botero in the 52-km time trial in Brittany, Armstrong is only 26 seconds behind Gonzalez Galdeano overall and leads Beloki by almost a minute, while Botero is almost two minutes behind him. "Botero or Gonzalez Galdeano have never taken a second off Lance in the mountains," Bruyneel pointed out. The first mountain stage of the Tour takes place Thursday over 158 kilometres between Pau and La Mongie, halfway through the Tourmalet pass. It will provide a serious indication of the real state of play. Bruyneel seems convinced that Gonzalez Galdeano, who was fifth in the Tour last year, and Botero, who was King of the Mountains two year ago, will lose ground in the climbs. Armstrong has worked harder to improve on his climbing skills this season at the expense of his time trial power, while Botero's strategy was just the opposite. "To me, Lance's only serious opponent in the mountain will be Beloki," said Bruyneel. "I still consider him the ONCE team leader, not Gonzalez Galdeano, who is just a diversion," he said. Climbers dropped In the past, the powerful ONCE team has frequently had two leaders on the Tour -- one for the flat and one for the mountains -- and team director Manolo Saiz has never been able to sacrifice one for the other. As a result ONCE have never won the Tour, a fact Bruyneel knows well having been a leading member of the team in his riding days. "But I know Bruyneel more than he knows me," replied Saiz when asked about the tactical fight. Beloki, third in the Tour for the past two years, looks like Armstrong's most serious rival. A gifted climber, he has been very quiet so far in the race and, without making a big show, is still third overall. Other climbers seem to have lost far too much time to be a serious threat. Botero's teammate Oscar Sevilla of Spain -- second in the Vuelta last year -- is five minutes off the pace. So too is Russian Denis Menchov, while Frenchman Richard Virenque has lost six minutes and Kazakh Andrei Kivilev nearly seven minutes on the American.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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