A Flat-Tired Also-RanU.S. Cyclist Lance Armstrong dropped from the lead to a disappointing 12th in the road raceby Johnette Howard
He was a big mystery to the other cyclists in the star-studded Olympic men's road race. So yesterday when U.S. medal hopeful Lance Armstrong broke away from the pack after 117 miles and into a slight lead, his competitors weren't sure if he had the stamina to hold on over the last 20 miles. Less than a month ago, bronchitis had knocked Armstrong out of the Tour de France. Would that prove to be a blessing in disguise, leaving him fresh-legged for a final push for the gold? Or would failing to finish the 23-day Tour have the opposite effect, turning his legs to lead?
Richard (left) never lost touch with the lead, then won the gold in a sprint to the finish.
photograph by
Armstrong's face betrayed nothing—not even when Switzerland's Pascal Richard, then Denmark's Rolf Sorensen and Britain's Maximilian Sciandri, reeled him in about four miles later.
Cycling races are a constant balancing act between exertion and fatigue, going for broke and hedging bets. That is especially true of tactical races, such as the 137.85-mile tear over the relatively flat course in Buckhead. Knowing that some of cycling's biggest names—Spain's Miguel Indurain, Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis of Denmark and world champion Abraham Olano of Spain, among others—were lying in wait behind him, Armstrong opted to let the less-heralded Richard, Sorensen and Sciandri go by.
After the cyclists had completed part of another lap around the 8.1-mile circuit, Frankie Andreu, Armstrong's U.S. teammate who was serving to pace and protect him from the wind, had to know: Could Armstrong go for the lead one last time? "He said, 'I'm pretty dead. I don't think I can make it up [to the lead again],'" Andreu recalled. "And that's when I took off."
Left to race on his own, Andreu, a 29-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., performed impressively, but he couldn't catch the leaders. Richard outsprinted Sorensen over the last 20 yards to win the gold by a bike length, in 4:53:56. Sciandri won the bronze, two seconds behind. On a day that many had expected would belong to Armstrong, Andreu instead crossed the finish line a surprising fourth.
After staggering home in 12th, 1:29 behind Richard, Armstrong was philosophical. "This is not a sport you can predict or guarantee," he said. "I took the attack. When I looked over my shoulder and saw them right there, I knew it was a problem."
The road race was Armstrong's best shot at a medal in the Atlanta Games, but he still has another opportunity, in Saturday's individual time trial. "He's still America's best," Andreu said. "He just didn't have the legs today."
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