http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6352383/ 
Laurent Rebours / AP '05 Tour won't play
to Lance's strengths Mountaintop finishes less
intense, time trials shorter Lance Armstrong will attempt to win the Tour de France for a seventh straight time next year. The Associated Press Updated: 9:43 a.m. ET Oct. 28, 2004
PARIS - The 2005 Tour de France may give other riders a chance to test Lance Armstrong, if he goes for a seventh straight title.
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The mountaintop finishes are less intense and the time trials shorter, possibly cutting into Armstrong’s strengths.
Organizers on Thursday unveiled the 2005 Tour route, which runs from July 2-24, passes through Germany and features 21 stages over 2,222 miles.
Replacing the customary opening day prologue is an 11.8-mile time trial from Fromentiere to Noirmoutier-en-L’Ile. Armstrong usually dominates clock races, and the short distance of the opening stage seems designed to minimize the gaps the Texan can open.
It also means he’ll have to be in top form right away. This year’s race, with a mountain time trial and three intense uphill sprints, played into the Texan’s hands.
Armstrong has yet to fully commit to the 2005 Tour, but in July said the lure of the world’s biggest cycling race is tough to resist.
He captured a record sixth straight title with an overall winning margin of 6 minutes, 19 seconds over Germany’s Andreas Kloden. Italy’s Ivan Basso was 6:40 back in third followed by Germany’s Jan Ullrich, 8:50 back.
“Lance remains favorite and will be stronger next year,” Basso said.
Having changed his sponsor from U.S. Postal Service to Discovery Channel, Armstrong’s new backers may insist he goes for Tour win No. 7. However, the team’s sporting director, Johan Bruyneel sounded less than certain.
“We want to wait until July to make a decision,” Bruyneel said. “I think it’s 50-50. He will take part if the thinks he can win it. If things do not go according to how he likes them, it’s possible he will not be here.”
Beginning in the coastal Atlantic Vendee region, the 2005 route snakes diagonally upward through the Loire Valley, where the team time trial takes place in Tours on July 4. It then heads into Champagne country before reaching the German border city of Karlsruhe on July 8. Riders leave Germany the following day from Pforzheim and the route travels clockwise.
“We decided it was Germany’s turn,” Tour race director Jean-Marie Leblanc said. “We know how much the Germans love cycling.”
Following the Pyrenees, several flat stages favor sprinters before the 34.1-mile time trial in Saint-Etienne on July 23. If Armstrong has not opened a significant gap by then, it will be his last chance to do so.
“We will have a very technical, difficult time trial,” Leblanc said.
The 2005 race features nine climbing stages — three of them moderate — beginning July 10 in the Alps and concluding July 19 in the Pyrenees. The six tough climbs are split between the Alps and the Pyrenees, and place a huge burden on Armstrong’s teammates, who will get little rest.
“As for the course, it is tough physically and that is something to keep in mind,” Bruyneel said. “The whole last week will be very tough.”
Of the Pyrenees climbs, the 127-mile leg on July 17 is sure to be poignant for Armstrong. It features the Col du Portet d’Aspet, where Armstrong’s teammate, Fabio Casartelli, died in 1995 after crashing on a descent. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
__________________________________________________
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell
Laurent Rebours / AP '05 Tour won't play to Lance's strengths Mountaintop finishes less
intense, time trials shorter Lance Armstrong will attempt to win the Tour de France for a seventh straight time next year. The Associated Press Updated: 9:43 a.m. ET Oct. 28, 2004
PARIS - The 2005 Tour de France may give other riders a chance to test Lance Armstrong, if he goes for a seventh straight title.
advertisement
The mountaintop finishes are less intense and the time trials shorter, possibly cutting into Armstrong’s strengths.
Organizers on Thursday unveiled the 2005 Tour route, which runs from July 2-24, passes through Germany and features 21 stages over 2,222 miles.
Replacing the customary opening day prologue is an 11.8-mile time trial from Fromentiere to Noirmoutier-en-L’Ile. Armstrong usually dominates clock races, and the short distance of the opening stage seems designed to minimize the gaps the Texan can open.
It also means he’ll have to be in top form right away. This year’s race, with a mountain time trial and three intense uphill sprints, played into the Texan’s hands.
Armstrong has yet to fully commit to the 2005 Tour, but in July said the lure of the world’s biggest cycling race is tough to resist.
He captured a record sixth straight title with an overall winning margin of 6 minutes, 19 seconds over Germany’s Andreas Kloden. Italy’s Ivan Basso was 6:40 back in third followed by Germany’s Jan Ullrich, 8:50 back.
“Lance remains favorite and will be stronger next year,” Basso said.
Having changed his sponsor from U.S. Postal Service to Discovery Channel, Armstrong’s new backers may insist he goes for Tour win No. 7. However, the team’s sporting director, Johan Bruyneel sounded less than certain.
“We want to wait until July to make a decision,” Bruyneel said. “I think it’s 50-50. He will take part if the thinks he can win it. If things do not go according to how he likes them, it’s possible he will not be here.”
Beginning in the coastal Atlantic Vendee region, the 2005 route snakes diagonally upward through the Loire Valley, where the team time trial takes place in Tours on July 4. It then heads into Champagne country before reaching the German border city of Karlsruhe on July 8. Riders leave Germany the following day from Pforzheim and the route travels clockwise.
“We decided it was Germany’s turn,” Tour race director Jean-Marie Leblanc said. “We know how much the Germans love cycling.”
Following the Pyrenees, several flat stages favor sprinters before the 34.1-mile time trial in Saint-Etienne on July 23. If Armstrong has not opened a significant gap by then, it will be his last chance to do so.
“We will have a very technical, difficult time trial,” Leblanc said.
The 2005 race features nine climbing stages — three of them moderate — beginning July 10 in the Alps and concluding July 19 in the Pyrenees. The six tough climbs are split between the Alps and the Pyrenees, and place a huge burden on Armstrong’s teammates, who will get little rest.
“As for the course, it is tough physically and that is something to keep in mind,” Bruyneel said. “The whole last week will be very tough.”
Of the Pyrenees climbs, the 127-mile leg on July 17 is sure to be poignant for Armstrong. It features the Col du Portet d’Aspet, where Armstrong’s teammate, Fabio Casartelli, died in 1995 after crashing on a descent. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
__________________________________________________
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell