Tour de France
Armstrong wins time trial, extends overall lead in Tour de France

By John Leicester
The Associated Press

Lance Armstrong.

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Dominant, Armstrong was the only rider to complete the climb to the L'Alpe d'Huez ski station in less than 40 minutes. He was 1 minute, 1 second faster than second-placed Jan Ullrich and even overtook his closest rival, Ivan Basso, on the ascent even though the Italian started two minutes ahead of him.

It was Armstrong's second consecutive stage victory and his third at this Tour, where again he has been almost unbeatable in the mountains. He also won a team time trial with his U.S. Postal Service squad.

Armstrong's winning mark on the 15.5-kilometer (9.6-mile) ascent was 39:41. He rode in the yellow jersey of the overall race leader and set out last of the 157 riders, in pole position.

At this stage, only a disaster would appear to stand in the way of Armstrong taking a record sixth Tour title when the race ends in Paris on Sunday.

It was the first time that Tour organizers organized a time trial, where riders race individually against the clock, on the legendary climb.

"Lots of emotion, lots of adrenaline," said Armstrong, summing up his race. "This mountain is special."

Basso placed eighth, 2:23 behind Armstrong. He stayed in second place overall but his deficit to the Texan grew to 3:48. Armstrong said he was surprised that Basso lost so much time.

"It's still a tight race. I knew I had to be good," he said.

Ullrich climbed to fourth overall, 7:55 behind Armstrong but improving his chances of finishing on the podium. The German won the 1997 Tour and has finished runner-up five times. He entered this Tour as Armstrong's most respected rival but has been unable to match him.

Andreas Kloden, Ullrich's T-Mobile teammate, is third overall, 5:03 back from Armstrong. He placed third today, 1:41 adrift of the Texan.
 
Hundreds of thousands of fans, some who camped out for days to get the best spots, lined the ascent, which is mined with 21 hairpin bends.

Armstrong said it "wasn't a good idea" to run a time trial on the climb and complained about German fans, saying they were "horrible."

"But that's life," he said.

At the bottom of the climb, fans completely covered the road, parting only at the last moment as riders hurtled toward them. Some fans ran alongside, waving flags that threatened to catch handlebars or wheels. Others were slow to move aside, forcing riders to swerve.

Police motorcyclists rode in front of the racers, sirens blaring, parting the crowds to some extent. But every moment still seemed to be an accident waiting to happen.