July 22, 2004
le Tour
Lance Armstrong is a force of nature. It's really as simple as that.
Combine this fact with his work ethic, his unusually thorough preparation routine and all of the effort that has put into assembling what may well be the best Team in the history of the Tour de France...
Well, let's just say that what many suspected would happen (myself included) when he went after an unprecedented Tour win has now become a foregone conclusion. Seriously, unless Lance falls off his bike and breaks several bones the 2004 edition of le Tour is is over and done.
Lance knows this too, though he won't come right out and say it. That's just his demeanor. However the reported (by Lance) discussion he had with his US Postal teammate Floyd Landis earlier today shows how confident Lance really is.
To set the stage, you first have to understand that Lance takes a "No Gifts" policy to stage wins. He used to allow teammates and others to win the odd stage if they were not one of his main competitors. It seems like a nice thing to do since it wouldn't affect the final outcome of who won. He doesn't do this anymore because some groused about it in years past.
Earlier today his teammate Floyd Landis set such an awesome tempo up Col de la Croix Fry, the final really tough climb of the 2004 Tour, that he completely destroyed those in the group. Two points here...
First, everyone expected Ivan Basso of CSC and T-Mobile teammates Andreas Kloden and Jan Ullrich (currently in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place of the GC standings respectively) to take a run a Lance in an effort to cut into Armstrong's lead. It was the only real shot any of them had at winning the Tour. They had to crack Lance and the Posties and gain at least a few minutes to stand any chance.
Much to their chagrin, Landis' tempo was so fierce that not only could they not mount a charge, but appeared to be barely hanging on to the pace he set up the mountainside.
Second, at the base of the final climb the leaders group contained over about 30 of the world's best riders. By the top there were only 5 left. With two of those being Landis and Armstrong of US Postal.
This is a very, very rare occurance in any bike race. In the Tour, with the caliber of riders involved, it is unheard of. And it was all Floyd Landis. No one came to the front to help him set tempo. Not Lance, not Kloden, not Ullrich, not Basso. It was Floyd and Floyd alone who made it his duty to destroy the contenders for Lance.
With what can only be described as a superhuman effort he succeeded.
What does Lance "The Boss" Armstrong do after this witnessing this marvel? Here's the discussion between Lance and Floyd at the top of Col de la Croix Fry before the brief 10 kilometer descent to the finish, remembering that Landis has never won a stage at the prestigeous Tour de France since his job is to take care of Lance and he takes it very, very seriously...
Lance: How bad do you want to win a stage on the Tour de France?
Floyd: Real bad.
Lance: How fast can you go downhill?
Floyd: I can ride downhill really fast.
Floyd: Can I do it?
Lance: Sure you can! Run like you stole something Floyd!
Remember... No Gifts. This was simply a way for Lance to show his appreciation to a teammate who had foiled any plans the competition may have had.
Landis, who had to be all but whipped after the effort he put into the uphill climb, shot off like a rocket. In the process losing three more of the final five (Armstrong, Basso and Kloden). Only Ullrich chased after him.
It was unfortunate for Landis, but predictable. Ullrich also doesn't believe in "Gifts", and even if he did he wanted the 20 second time bonus for winning the stage.
With Ullrich going, Lance had to chase them both down. Before the end of the stage, all 5 of these premiere riders were back together. Eventually Kloden launched a counter attack, but being a good worker bee for Lance, Landis pulled back to within 50 meters of him.
The last bit was left to Lance. He bolted out of the small pack, leaving everyone in his dust, and nipped Kloden at the line for the stage win.
Lance won the stage.
Lance will win his sixth straight Tour de France.
But Floyd Landis won the day.