Tour de France
Lance storms to win

By John Henderson
The Denver Post

BERNARD PAPON / AP Lance Armstrong beat Ivan Basso to the Plateau de Beille in yesterday's stage of the Tour de France.

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PLATEAU DE BEILLE, France — They are falling in his wake like driftwood in a tidal wave, crashing on the shore in various states of disrepair. Suddenly, seven days before the procession to Paris, the biggest challengers to Lance Armstrong's date with history are no more.

Tyler Hamilton is out. Iban Mayo almost went out. Jan Ullrich seems as good as out. And Armstrong is as good as in. As in a record sixth Tour victory.

Yesterday, Armstrong took another leap toward the Champs-Elysees with his first stage win of this Tour. And he put himself a few more furlongs ahead of the strongest horses in the field.

On the toughest stage to date, the mountainous 127-mile Stage 13 from Lannemezan to this ski resort in the Pyrenees, Armstrong edged Ivan Basso for the victory.

In two Pyrenees stages, Armstrong scooped up a second and a first. Not a good sign for anyone hoping to win in the mountains.

"I'm always insecure about my climbing," Armstrong said. "The day I show up and I'm convinced I'll be in front on the climbs is the day that I lose."

Armstrong doesn't have many worries left about this Tour:

• Ullrich, the five-time runner-up and Armstrong's chief challenger, finished sixth (2:42 behind). Counting the 20 seconds Armstrong won for the stage victory, Armstrong leads Ullrich, standing eighth, by 6:39.

• Hamilton, considered the No. 2 challenger, quit the Tour 49 miles into yesterday's stage because of lingering back pain.

• Mayo, the dark horse and expected to be inspired here by thousands of fellow Basques, had the worst day of a bad Tour. He suffered two flat tires, nearly quit and finally finished 115th, 37:40 back. He's 49th overall and trails Armstrong by 44:42.

"That's the Tour," Armstrong said. "You come in with a perception of who's dangerous and that changes daily. And then we have to change our tactics and change our view of the peloton."

Armstrong is second overall, 22 seconds behind France's Thomas Voeckler. Armstrong's biggest worry appears to be Basso, Team CSC's star since Hamilton left for a Phonak squad built around him. Basso is 1:17 behind Armstrong.

"That's not a big gap," Armstrong said. "I have to be careful. I think he'll be good on L'Alpe d'Huez (Wednesday)."

Yesterday's stage had six climbs totaling 41 miles. It finished with an 11-mile climb that featured grades of almost 10 percent.

The first casualty was Hamilton, who never recovered from a crash on Stage 6 and lost 3:27 to Armstrong on Friday.

Mayo, the Basque hero, reacted to one puncture with about a 30-second meltdown. His teammates, not to mention the hordes of orange-clad Basques, finally persuaded him to continue.

"I never dreamed of being in a situation like this," Mayo said. "I wanted to go home, but my teammates changed my mind to stay in the race."

Armstrong, who recovered from a flat tire, followed teammate Josi Azevedo up the final mountain. Azevedo then peeled away, and Basso and Armstrong took turns leading up the mountain. Armstrong rushed past Basso with 25 yards left to win.

Overall leaders

Five-time Tour champ Lance Armstrong won yesterday's stage to close in on the yellow jersey.

1. Thomas Voeckler, France, Brioches La Boulangere, 58:27.

2. Lance Armstrong, U.S. Postal-Berry Floor, 0:22 behind.

3. Ivan Basso, Italy, Team CSC, 1:39 behind.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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