As expected, Discovery took advantage of the first day in the Alps. On the final climb of the day (up to Courchevel), the Discovery Channel team set a blistering pace that put all the major GC challengers on the defensive. And then Lance took over. With 10km left, Lance kicked it up another notch. In the end, only four riders rose together: Lance, Alejandro Valverde, Michael Rasmussen (current KOM leader) and Francisco Manceblo.
In the last 100m, Valverde took Lance’s lead out and sprinted past him for the stage win. In a gesture of sportsmanship, Lance shook hands with Alejandro. After the race, Lance commented that “we may have seen the future of cycling” in Valverde.
There’s a lot of racing still to go. One more stage in the Alps and two stages in the Pyrennes remain. And there is still another time trial to go. But Lance has certainly demonstrated that he is in great form.
Now let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings with a “beyond category” climb on tap.
Stage results (Top 10)
1. Alejandro Valverde (Sp) Illes Balears 4hrs 50mins 35secs
2. Lance Armstrong (US) Discovery same time
3. Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank +9s
4. Francisco Mancebo (Sp) Illes Balears same time
5. Ivan Basso (It) Team CSC +1:02
6. Levi Leipheimer (US) Gerolsteiner +1:15
7. Eddy Mazzoleni (It) Lampre-Caffita +2:14
8. Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto same time
9. Andreas Kloden (Ger) T-Mobile same time
10. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole same time
Overall standings(Top 10)
1. Lance Armstrong (US) Discovery 37:11:04″
2. Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank +38s
3. Ivan Basso (It) Team CSC +2:40
4. Christophe Moreau (Fr) Credit Agricole +2:42
5. Alejandro Valverde (Sp) Illes Balears +3:16
6. Levi Leipheimer (US) Gerolsteiner +3:58
7. Francisco Mancebo (Sp) Illes Balears +4:00
8. Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile +4:02
9. Andreas Kloden (Ger) T-Mobile +4:16
10. Floyd Landis (US) Phonak same time
-CyclingRoo-
Tags: Tour de France