Tour de France-Day 12-A Tragedy, A Triumph, A Whisper of Drugs

Austin American-Statesman ^ | July 17 | AP

[concentric circles]

French rider Halgand wins stage Galdeano, Armstrong still pace overall standings as mountains loom next

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday, July 17, 2002

PAU, France — French rider Patrice Halgand won Wednesday's 10th stage of the Tour de France, while three-time champion Lance Armstrong and overall leader Igor Gonzalez Galdeano finished in the main pack with the same time.

Armstrong was 40th, nearly 4 minutes off Halgand's pace, and remained in second place in the standings, 26 seconds behind Gonzalez Galdeano.

It was disclosed Wednesday that Gonzalez Galdeano tested positive for salbutamol last week, but organizers said he is cleared to use the restricted substance. Salbutamol treats asthma and is banned unless athletes have a prescription.

Traces were found in a July 12 test at the end of the stage from Forges-les-Eaux to Alencon, Tour spokesman Philippe Sudres said.

UCI, world cycling's governing body, "has long had a medical justification for this rider" to use salbutamol, Tour de France deputy director Daniel Baal said.

Halgand, who rides for the Jean Delatour team, surged in the final climb of the relatively flat 91-mile leg from Bazas to Pau in southwestern France for his first Tour stage victory.

He attacked in the final 3 1/2 miles, and beat countryman Jerome Pineau by 27 seconds. Halgand finished in 3 hours, 15 seconds.

Gonzalez Galdeano has held the yellow jersey worn by the race leader for six stages, and will wear it in Thursday's opening mountain leg from Pau to La Mongie, high in the Pyrenees.

The 98-mile ride features two difficult climbs and should see Armstrong make his first serious bid for the race lead.

Gonzalez Galdeano has been the talk of the Tour, suddenly touted as Armstrong's next big rival.

Armstrong is a little puzzled.

"I never feel safe," the Texan said Tuesday. "But I wonder sometimes where such confidence comes from, when there's been no precedent, or rather, where the buzz comes from."

While undeniably talented, Galdeano did not come close to scaring Armstrong in the Tour's key mountain stages last year.

He lost 4:03 to the U.S. Postal Service rider in the opening mountain stretch from Aix-Les-Bains to L'Alpe d'Huez. By the end of the 2001 Tour, he trailed by 13:28.

"I was reading all of this stuff — this is such a big war between Armstrong and Galdeano," Armstrong said. "And I thought, I've got to look at the Tour last year.

"I looked at L'Alpe d'Huez: four minutes. I looked at the final: 13 minutes. These are big chunks of time."

Riders face one exceptionally difficult climb up the Col d'Aubisque mountain pass on Thursday. The day's other major challenge is the ride to the La Mongie ski station on the Tourmalet, one of the Tour's toughest climbs.

Because of his traditional strength in the mountains, Armstrong remains the favorite to win the Tour for the fourth straight year, but he is still not completely comfortable.

"Sometimes I feel like such a momentum rider," the Texan said. "You get the momentum going, you feel good, you win a stage, you get the jersey, and all of a sudden you feel great.

"We don't have that. It's not that we're going backward, but we don't have any momentum."

Asked if that worried him, Armstrong replied: "No. Not yet."

[stylin_geek]

The weirdest way I ever burned my eyes was using a conventional hood. We had welding booths we worked in, and the interior was painted white. I was welding aluminum pipe, and the flash is about 10 times brighter than the one from steel. The reflection from the white walls in to my hood was enough to burn my eyes. Ouch!! After that, I wore dark safety glasses under my hood whenever I welded aluminum, rather than the usual clear safety glasses.

[stylin_geek]

I had no idea there were so many cycling enthusiasts..I should say, knowledgeable cycling enthusiasts at FR. Once again, FR shows it is a true example of diversity.

I would agree, to a certain point, that no rider can do it alone. However, I believe last year during a climb, a breakaway killed Lance's team, and he had to do it alone...and he did. Of course, this would be why he is the featured rider on the team.

[Mikerow]

I used to run track with Bob Roll, in the mid 70's, he was quite a free spirit. I dont ever remember him getting tired.

[Tickle Me Pank]

Took 5th last year in his first Tour, quite an impressive feat, actually. I don't think Lance ever finished a Tour until his initial win in 1999.

Botero took 3rd the last 2 years behind Lance & Ulrich, and is only 1'55" back.

I expect Lance to put some hurt on some people in the first few mountain stages, but my guess is he'll let the polka dot goats play, and settle for time over Galdeano & Botero. My only real concerns are that 1) - Lance is a momentum rider, and the 'fall' (first since he rturned to the Tour) might have taken a little edge off, and 2) - he's lost his two top domestiques to other teams.

RetiredArmy sayeth:

This Gonzalez guy was not even in the pre-race favorites.....

[Tickle Me Pank]

Trivia Q's for the crew:

1) - has anyone won in their first Tour?

2) - has anyone ever taken all 3 jerseys (yellow / green / pola dot) in the same Tour?

[Weimdog]

That's also why Armstrong is the 12 MILLION DOLLAR MAN...

Armstrong, the 12 million dollar man

Lance Armstrong is still the highest paid cyclist in the world, due to his image as a cancer survivor as well as being an American winner of the biggest and hardest cycling race in the world. He reportedly earns US$12 million a year from sponsorship plus an extra US$200,000 from public speaking.

His agent Bill Stapleton said in an interview with Reuters that Armstrong "earns every cent...Lance has a very good image in the USA, especially after recovering from cancer. Companies are all excited to have him endorse their products."

His main sponsors include Trek, Powerfood, Nike, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca Cola and Oakley, all of whom pay at least US$500,000 for sponsorship rights. In addition, sales of his autobiography "It's Not About the Bike", co-written with Sally Jenkins, have topped 800,000, and he receives royalties from those.

According to Cyclingnews sources there is another book in the works with the same author Sally Jenkins, due out some time next year. And there is even a movie producer on Tour this year who is interested in making a film about Lance's career over the past four years.

One thing's for sure, LA will be popular for some time to come.

[stylin_geek]

The only cyclist I can think of that might have won his first Tour would be the cyclist that won the very first Tour. Other than that, the Eddy Merckx might have taken all three jerseys.

[Cagey]

I'd guess Eddie Merckx too, but that seems too easy.

Try this game out and see how you do.

Tour de France Interactive Trivia Game

[HangThemHigh]

I see Lance in the Tour this year much like the British Open with Tiger Woods. If Lance wants it and is in his old form, the rest of the racing is only to determine who finishes second.

I think with no obvious strong competition, Lance may save his strength and just do enough to be atop the podium in Paris (as evidenced by the time trial, IMHO). With the US Postal team intact and relatively rested after today's stage, they should be ready. However, if Galdeano shows any strength in the mountains tomorrow, Lance may rise up just long enough to put him in his place.

Glad to hear Bob Roll is joining the coverage, I was thinking of complaining to OLN about his absence.

[Tickle Me Pank]

Merckx on both accounts (1969) (if you don't count 1903 :).

[Tickle Me Pank]

Don't be too quick to dismiss Botero, who was KOM in 2000.....

HTH sayeth:

However, if Galdeano shows any strength in the mountains tomorrow, Lance may rise up just long enough to put him in his place.

[Tickle Me Pank]

Merckx is the only rider to take all 3 jerseys in the same tour, and took multi jerseys in 4 of his 5 wins.

Hinault is the only rider to take 2 since Merckx:

1969 Eddy Merckx - Overall, mountains and points

1970 Eddy Merckx - Overall and mountains

1971 Eddy Merckx - Overall and points

1972 Eddy Merckx - Overall and points

1979 Bernard Hinault - Overall and points

Kinda shows why Eddie is considered the greatest Tour rider ever, plus he still leads in total stage wins w/ 33.

Clearly the strategy of the Tour has changed over the years, with stage wins & the other jerseys taking a back seat to the yellow.

[stylin_geek]

I would like to say his wins were tainted due to drugs, but heck, everyone was using speed on the Tour back then. In fact, I believe regular drug testing was instituted on the Tour because a rider dropped dead unexpectedly, and it turned out he was loaded with amphetamines. Also, I think Eddy was the first rider to train year round, which gave him a huge advantage over everyone else. Perhaps you have some better information on this than I do?

[stylin_geek]

And Lance takes the lead in the first mountain stage. And he did not really push during the climb. And harder ones are ahead. Hmm...

[EmmaPeel]

Bump from Austin for Lance!

[RetiredArmy]

Two straight MOUNTAIN STAGE wins for Lance. He is now putting the big hurt on these guys. He can bury them in the Alps!!!!!!!!!

[Tickle Me Pank]

He didn't win the stage today, Virenque did, but Lance put some good time on Galdeano & Beloki. Looks like Virenque is well on his way to his 6th KOM.