Rainbow 9
July 7th, 2004, 16:11
nytimes.com
July 7, 2004
By SAMUEL ABT
RRAS, France, July 7 — Their body language said it all when the United States Postal Service riders crossed the finish line today after a long team time-trial: broad smiles, backslaps, handshakes, embraces and arms thrown into the air in joy.
The jubilation over their victory was affirmed a few minutes later, when Lance Armstrong found himself in the familiar position of standing on the winner's podium and pulling the yellow jersey of the Tour de France's overall leader over his head.
Fifth by 16 seconds before this fourth of 20 daily stages, Armstrong said after the 64.5-kilometer, or 40-mile, race against the clock that he well understood that he could take over the leadership with a strong performance.
"I knew I'd be in yellow and I thought about it last night, this morning and during the race," he said at a news conference. "But the only day that really counts is in Paris," where the Tour ends on July 25.
The Texan, who has won the last five Tours de France and is seeking a record sixth victory, leads his teammate George Hincapie, in second place over all, by 10 seconds, with Floyd Landis, another teammate, in third place among the 183 riders, 16 seconds behind. It is the first time in the 101-year history of the race that Americans have ranked one, two and three.
That will not last long, Armstrong warned.
"Our objective is not to defend the jersey," he said. "It's not in the best interest of the team," he explained. "You have to preserve the strength of the team for the second half."
That means that Postal Service will not chase down any breakaways as the race wends through the flatlands of northern France, Normandy and Brittany until Sunday.
Armstrong's team finished in 53 minutes 71 seconds, a speed of 53.7 kilometers an hour (33.5 m.p.h.) over twisty roads made treacherous by a constant rain that sometimes approached monsoon ferocity.
"I was nervous all day long," Armstrong said. "On the curves, I was the last guy in the line. I didn't want to take any risks." He noted that other teams had numerous crashes.
Among them was Phonak from Switzerland, led by Tyler Hamilton, another American. His team, which finished second, one minute 17 seconds back, had two crashes, one flat tire and one change of bicycles.
In a team time-trial, the first five finishers get the time of the fifth man across the line, and Phonak's front group consisted of that minimum of five, from among its nine starters.
Finishing in third place today was Illes Balears from Spain, 1'15" behind Postal, with T-Mobile from Germany fourth, 1'19" behind.
Despite those deficits, a rule instituted for this Tour allowed Armstrong to gain just 20 seconds on Phonak, 30 seconds on Illes Balears and 40 seconds on T-Mobile and its leader, Jan Ullrich, who finished second in the Tour last year and four years previously.
"You get 20 seconds, and 20 seconds is what you get," Armstrong said, obviously trying not to sound critical.
He has often questioned the new rule, which seems to be designed to keep the race tight and could be regarded as inspired by his domination of recent Tours, since Postal Service also won the team time-trial last year and gained minutes on some rivals.
"But 20 seconds or not, you still have the consolation of knowing you have the best team in the race," he said as he sat smiling in the yellow jersey.
"Last year," he continued while discussing the team time-trial, "our victory was a highlight, if not the highlight, of the Tour. This year it was even better."
Even though his time advantage was limited by the new rule, he did not discount the little he gained.
"Twenty seconds and 40 seconds are a significant amount of time," he said, referring to the losses by Hamilton and Ullrich.
Hamilton now ranks 8th, 36 seconds down, and Ullrich 16th, 55 seconds down. Another major rival, Roberto Heras, a Spaniard with Liberty Seguros, which finished seventh, 2'25" behind Postal Service, lost 1'10" on the sliding scale and ranks 34th, 1'45" behind.
Iban Mayo, a Spaniard who leads Euskaltel and who lost nearly four minutes on Tuesday after a crash, lost 1'20" more today as his team finished a surprisingly strong eighth, 2'35" behind in real time. Over all, he ranks 92nd, nearly five-and-a-half minutes down.
The stage ran from Cambrai to Arras in northern France, and the 21 teams left five minutes apart before big crowds at the start, though many spectators took cover as the rain pelted down.
A third of the way through the 64.5 kilometers, Postal Service ranked fifth, with Illes Balears from Spain first by 37 seconds over Armstrong's team.
"We started slow, got behind, maybe some of the guys were nervous," Armstrong said. "It's the sign of a great team to make that up." Postal Service did that in the next 20 kilometers, reaching the 42-kilometer checkpoint in first place, 28 seconds ahead of the Spaniards.
That lead continued to increase until the finish, which was approached by a short stretch of cobblestones. As the team neared the line, Hincapie appeared to gesture to Armstrong to come to the front and finish first.
He declined that honor. Victory belonged to the team, he explained, not to any one rider, not even its leader and the winner of five consecutive Tours de France.
July 7, 2004
By SAMUEL ABT
RRAS, France, July 7 — Their body language said it all when the United States Postal Service riders crossed the finish line today after a long team time-trial: broad smiles, backslaps, handshakes, embraces and arms thrown into the air in joy.
The jubilation over their victory was affirmed a few minutes later, when Lance Armstrong found himself in the familiar position of standing on the winner's podium and pulling the yellow jersey of the Tour de France's overall leader over his head.
Fifth by 16 seconds before this fourth of 20 daily stages, Armstrong said after the 64.5-kilometer, or 40-mile, race against the clock that he well understood that he could take over the leadership with a strong performance.
"I knew I'd be in yellow and I thought about it last night, this morning and during the race," he said at a news conference. "But the only day that really counts is in Paris," where the Tour ends on July 25.
The Texan, who has won the last five Tours de France and is seeking a record sixth victory, leads his teammate George Hincapie, in second place over all, by 10 seconds, with Floyd Landis, another teammate, in third place among the 183 riders, 16 seconds behind. It is the first time in the 101-year history of the race that Americans have ranked one, two and three.
That will not last long, Armstrong warned.
"Our objective is not to defend the jersey," he said. "It's not in the best interest of the team," he explained. "You have to preserve the strength of the team for the second half."
That means that Postal Service will not chase down any breakaways as the race wends through the flatlands of northern France, Normandy and Brittany until Sunday.
Armstrong's team finished in 53 minutes 71 seconds, a speed of 53.7 kilometers an hour (33.5 m.p.h.) over twisty roads made treacherous by a constant rain that sometimes approached monsoon ferocity.
"I was nervous all day long," Armstrong said. "On the curves, I was the last guy in the line. I didn't want to take any risks." He noted that other teams had numerous crashes.
Among them was Phonak from Switzerland, led by Tyler Hamilton, another American. His team, which finished second, one minute 17 seconds back, had two crashes, one flat tire and one change of bicycles.
In a team time-trial, the first five finishers get the time of the fifth man across the line, and Phonak's front group consisted of that minimum of five, from among its nine starters.
Finishing in third place today was Illes Balears from Spain, 1'15" behind Postal, with T-Mobile from Germany fourth, 1'19" behind.
Despite those deficits, a rule instituted for this Tour allowed Armstrong to gain just 20 seconds on Phonak, 30 seconds on Illes Balears and 40 seconds on T-Mobile and its leader, Jan Ullrich, who finished second in the Tour last year and four years previously.
"You get 20 seconds, and 20 seconds is what you get," Armstrong said, obviously trying not to sound critical.
He has often questioned the new rule, which seems to be designed to keep the race tight and could be regarded as inspired by his domination of recent Tours, since Postal Service also won the team time-trial last year and gained minutes on some rivals.
"But 20 seconds or not, you still have the consolation of knowing you have the best team in the race," he said as he sat smiling in the yellow jersey.
"Last year," he continued while discussing the team time-trial, "our victory was a highlight, if not the highlight, of the Tour. This year it was even better."
Even though his time advantage was limited by the new rule, he did not discount the little he gained.
"Twenty seconds and 40 seconds are a significant amount of time," he said, referring to the losses by Hamilton and Ullrich.
Hamilton now ranks 8th, 36 seconds down, and Ullrich 16th, 55 seconds down. Another major rival, Roberto Heras, a Spaniard with Liberty Seguros, which finished seventh, 2'25" behind Postal Service, lost 1'10" on the sliding scale and ranks 34th, 1'45" behind.
Iban Mayo, a Spaniard who leads Euskaltel and who lost nearly four minutes on Tuesday after a crash, lost 1'20" more today as his team finished a surprisingly strong eighth, 2'35" behind in real time. Over all, he ranks 92nd, nearly five-and-a-half minutes down.
The stage ran from Cambrai to Arras in northern France, and the 21 teams left five minutes apart before big crowds at the start, though many spectators took cover as the rain pelted down.
A third of the way through the 64.5 kilometers, Postal Service ranked fifth, with Illes Balears from Spain first by 37 seconds over Armstrong's team.
"We started slow, got behind, maybe some of the guys were nervous," Armstrong said. "It's the sign of a great team to make that up." Postal Service did that in the next 20 kilometers, reaching the 42-kilometer checkpoint in first place, 28 seconds ahead of the Spaniards.
That lead continued to increase until the finish, which was approached by a short stretch of cobblestones. As the team neared the line, Hincapie appeared to gesture to Armstrong to come to the front and finish first.
He declined that honor. Victory belonged to the team, he explained, not to any one rider, not even its leader and the winner of five consecutive Tours de France.