Vinokourov cuts into Armstrong's lead with win
Fighting back
Vinokourov rebounds to cut into Armstrong's lead
Posted: Wednesday July 13, 2005 11:31AM; Updated: Wednesday July 13, 2005 11:44AMBRIANCON, France (AP) -- Alexandre Vinokourov won Wednesday's second Alpine stage of the Tour de France with a solo ascent of this year's highest climb, but Lance Armstrong's overall lead remained unchanged.
The 11th-stage win at Briancon was Vinokourov's second in five Tours. His first was in 2003.
The T-Mobile rider rebounded from a disastrous ride Tuesday on the first Alpine stage, when Armstrong surged ahead of the Kazakh rider and other main rivals to retake the overall lead.
Vinokourov surged into the lead on the famed Col du Galibier, the last of three ascents on the 107.5-mile route from the ski station of Courchevel. The Galibier is the highest climb on this year's Tour at 8,677 feet.
Santiago Botero of Colombia was second over the pass, 40 seconds slower than Vinokourov. But the Phonak rider caught Vinokourov on the descent toward Briancon, and they raced to the finish, where Vinokourov beat Botero in a sprint to the line.
Armstrong scaled the Galibier some 2 minutes, 40 seconds behind Vinokourov in a group of about 20 riders. But he reeled in some of the deficit with a speedy descent, finishing 1:15 behind Vinokourov in sixth place.
Armstrong's overall lead over the second-place Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark remained at 38 seconds. French rider Christophe Moreau moved to third overall, 2:34 behind the six-time champion.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 9:07 AM.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
» Post a Comment