Merckx wins fifth stage at Dauphine Libere, Armstrong in chasing pack
Merckx wins fifth stage at Dauphine Libere, Armstrong in chasing pack
Canadian PressFriday, June 10, 2005
Axel Merckx of Belgium celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 5th stage of the Dauphine Libere cycling race between Vaison-La-Romaine and Grenoble, southeastern France. Friday. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
GRENOBLE, France (AP) - Axel Merckx won the fifth stage of the Dauphine Libere cycling race on Friday after a solo breakaway in the French Alps while six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong stayed comfortably in the chasing pack to finish 23rd.
Merckx, the son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx, finished two minutes 15 seconds ahead of second-place Inigo Landaluze in the 219-kilometre trek from Vaison-la-Romaine to Grenoble.