It’s a Tour de Force Stage for Armstrong

PARIS — In the cold rain, fog and clouds of the Pyrenees, Lance Armstrong took firm command of the Tour de France Monday in the cycling classic’s 10th day, crushing his best-known rivals with an awesome surge of uphill power.

In the toughest stage yet in this year’s edition of the legendary race, and the first day in the mountains, Armstrong, the Tour’s defending champion, broke free of the competition at the beginning of the steep climb up Hautacam, eight miles from the day’s finish.

At the bottom, Spaniard Javier Ochoa, the day’s leader, had enjoyed an eight-minute lead. But Armstrong, legs pumping like pistons, drove furiously up the wet, slippery forest road, whose gradient averages 8%.

By the time he crossed the line more than 5,000 feet above sea level, the 28-year-old Texan had the honor of donning the snug-fitting yellow jersey worn by the race’s overall leader.

“Today was about good tactics,” said the delighted American. “It was a good day for me. I like these conditions.”

Suddenly, in the saw-toothed peaks near the Spanish border, it became a whole new Tour, and Armstrong its uncontested leader. In Monday’s 10th stage, which began in the spa town of Dax and ended near the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes, Armstrong simply overwhelmed the other previous Tour winners in the race, Jan Ullrich of Germany and Marco Pantani of Italy.

Armstrong had begun the day in 16th place overall, almost six minutes off the leader’s time. But he never made a secret of his strategy: to conserve his forces in the early days of the race in order to be fresh and ready for the mountains.

In high-altitude temperatures that dropped as low as 45, and winds that reached 40 mph, the three Tour laureates had been riding in a group when Pantani, a potent climber, attacked. Armstrong kept up with him, then surged ahead.

It might have been the decisive moment of the 2000 Tour, akin to Armstrong’s knockout victory last year in the first mountain stage. He never relinquished the yellow jersey after that.

In the overall standings, the star of the U.S. Postal Service team ended the day 4 minutes 14 seconds ahead of Ullrich, and 10:34 ahead of Pantani. For the second year in a row, barring an accident or other mishap, cycling’s most challenging race appears to be the “Tour de Lance.”

“I feel strong. But fitness can decrease,” a cautious Armstrong remarked. “It’s still early days. There is still Ventoux [the 12th stage] and other mountain stages.”

Until Monday, the Tour had rolled across mostly flat country and had lacked a dominant leader. In the jargon of cycling, though, mountain stages are known as “justices of the peace”--the pitiless judges of riders’ strengths and weaknesses. That was certainly what happened Monday, as riders took on five Pyrenees heights in succession. Many sprinters, who excel on level terrain, withered.

For instance, David Millar, the Scottish rookie who beat out Armstrong by two seconds in individual time trials on the first day, plummeted to No. 32 overall, 12:34 behind Armstrong.

More important, Armstrong widened his lead over the other serious contenders for overall victory. Alex Zuelle of Switzerland, last year’s runner-up, lost more than three minutes to him. Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, gave up almost 3 1/2 minutes, and Pantani, victor in 1998, more than five.

Only Ochoa who rode three-quarters of the 127-mile leg on a solo breakaway, managed to do better than the American for the day, earning his first victory since his debut as a professional three years ago.

“The new boss of the Tour de France is named Lance Armstrong, like last year,” is how France’s most-watched TV channel, TF1, summed up events in its evening newscast.

“I have no certainty for the moment,” said Armstrong himself, who recovered from cancer three years ago to make a startling return to the highest level of his sport. “But the tests that I did during training at Nice [before the Tour began July 1] were very good, better than last year.”

In Monday’s truly miserable conditions, some of the 171 riders skidded and fell on rain-slicked roads. Jonathan Vaughters, an American riding for Credit Agricole of France, was taken away by ambulance after crashing into a barrier.

The Tour returns to the plains today with a 135.7-mile leg from Bagneres-de-Bigorre to Revel. Then, after a rest day, more justices of the peace loom: wind-raked Mont Ventoux in Provence, one of the most dreaded climbs of the Tour, and three days in the Alps.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

TOUR OF FRANCE

10TH STAGE

Dax to Lourdes-Hautacam, 127 miles

1. Javier Ochoa, Spain 6:09:32

2. Lance Armstrong, U.S. 42

seconds behind

3. Jose Jimenez, Spain 1:13

4. Richard Virenque, France 1:57

5. Manuel Beltran, Spain 1:57

*

OVERALL

After 10 of 21 stages

1. Armstrong 39:24:30

2. Jan Ullrich, Germany 4:14

behind

3. Christophe Moreau, France 5:10

4. Marc Wouters, Belgium 5:18

5. Peter Luttenberger, Austria 5:21

6. Joseba Beloki, Spain 5:23

7. Beltran 5:44

8. Ochoa 6:13

9. Jimenez 6:21

10. Angel Casero, Spain 6:55

UP NEXT

* Today--11th stage: Bagneres-de-Bigorre to Revel, 135.7

* Wednesday--Rest day.

Tour de France Glance

A look at Monday’s 10th stage:

* STAGE--A 127-mile route through the Pyrenees from Dax to Lourdes-Hautacam.

* STAGE WINNER--Javier Ochoa of Spain, in 6 hours 9 minutes 32 seconds.

* HOW OTHERS FARED--Defending champion Lance Armstrong finished second, 42 seconds behind Ochoa, to jump from 16th to first place overall. He leads Jan Ullrich, the 1997 champion, by 4:14.

* QUOTE OF THE DAY--”Armstrong came past like a plane.”

--Richard Virenque, who finished fourth Monday.

* NEXT STAGE--Today’s 11th stage is 135.7 miles from Bagneres-de-Bigorre to Revel.

Stage Winners

The 21 stages of the Tour de France with miles of the stage followed by stage winner and overall leader in parentheses.

* July 1--1st stage: Futuroscope, 10.3 individual time trial (David Millar, Scotland)

* July 2--2nd stage: Futuroscope to Loudun, 120.5 (Tom Steels, Belgium; Millar)

* July 3--3rd stage: Loudun to Nantes, 100.3 (Steels; Millar)

* July 4--4th stage: Nantes to Saint-Nazaire, 43.5 team time trial (Once; Laurent Jalabert, France)

* July 5--5th stage: Vannes to Vitre (Marcel Wust, Germany; Jalabert)

* July 6--6th stage: Vitre to Tours, 123.3 (Leon van Bon, Netherlands; Alberto Elli, Italy)

* July 7--7th stage: Tours to Limoges, 127.6 (Christophe Agnolutto, France; Elli)

* July 8--8th stage: Limoges to Villeneuve-Sur-Lot, 126.4 (Erik Dekker, Netherlands; Elli)

* July 9--9th stage: Agen to Dax, 112.4 (Paolo Bettini, Italy; Elli)

* July 10--10th stage: Dax to Lourdes-Hautacam, 127.3 (Javier Ochoa, Spain; Lance Armstrong, U.S.)

* Today--11th stage: Bagneres-de-Bigorre to Revel, 135.7

* Wednesday--Rest day.

* Thursday--12th stage: Carpentras to Mont Ventoux, 92.5

* Friday--13th stage: Avignon to Draguignan, 115.2

* Saturday--14th stage: Draguignan to Briancon, 154.9

* Sunday--15th stage: Briancon to Courchevel, 107.7

* Monday--Rest day.

* July 18--16th stage: Courchevel to Morzine, 122

* July 19--17th stage: Evian-les-Bains to Lausanne, 96.3

* July 20--18th stage: Lausanne to Fribourg-en-Brisgau, 153.1

* July 21--19th stage: Fribourg-en-Brisgau to Mulhouse, 36.3

* July 22--20th stage: Belfort to Troyes, 158

* July 23--21st stage: Paris to Champs-Elysees, 85.7