Previous stories

Tour News for July 21

Stage 13 - Full results & report
Stage 13 - Live coverage

Post-stage comments

Lance Armstrong (USPS, 1st stage and Maillot Jaune)

Armstrong salutes
Photo: © AFP

Was this yellow jersey harder to gain than you thought? "It was necessary to wait a little longer, but I knew I would get there. We decided to wait for the last climb, there was no urgency. But Telekom took the race in hand to make it hard."

"I was happy to have two teammates with me at the foot of the last climb. To ensure the Maillot Jaune, I accelerated towards the end."

" I have never felt this good. I feel better than I did in the previous two Tours. I've never trained so hard. Johan Bruyneel was even worried that I was overdoing it during the training camp before the Tour. It was there that I felt as though I had passed through to a higher level. I don't know if I am on the top of my form know or on the downhill."

You pointed to the sky at the finish. Why? "I made the same gesture as six years ago (in Limoges) to dedicate my victory to Fabio Casartelli. I've never passed [the Casartelli memorial] in the Tour de France. This was the first time. I felt full of emotion. In training, six weeks ago, I cried like a baby when I passed in front of the memorial."

"My first reaction today: It's a terrible descent. The worst we ever do. Fast, twisty dangerous. I decided then that there's only one winner today. Even if a break had 10 minutes, I was going to win this today for him."

"In terms of stage victories, I remember I won six in a race in Spain when I was an amateur, but this is not comparable."

On Ullrich: "He's a tough guy. Yesterday's attack (stage 12) was a lot harder than people think. When he crashed today I couldn't believe it. For him to come back shows he's a great champion."

About cycling: "I've learned more about it. When I came in from triathlon and other sports, I didn't know anything. I've become a student of the sport. I love it. That's what keeps me coming back."

On how he makes it look easy: "Come and look at my face in January when I'm trail running on my property in Austin, Texas, and I'm hurting like a dog. It's an ugly face. I'd rather have the face then and feel good here. It's called sacrifice."

Jan Ullrich (Telekom, 2nd)

Ullrich with bike
Photo: © AFP

"I am not too bad after the fall. When I saw that I could not take the corner, I went on the small passage at the side of the road. I landed in the stream and got wet but I was OK, and I didn't lose much time. I'm very lucky."

When Armstrong waited for him, "It was a very nice gesture - I don't think Lance would be so loved by fans if he did something unfair. He saw the accident. He was behind me and then waited. I appreciate that."

"Tomorrow is the last difficult stage and I hope I'll be better than Armstrong. I'm going to try. My teammates are going to try a few things, but Lance is even stronger this year than last and I don't know what else we can do. I will continue in an attacking mode. Maybe we can make something happen."

Joseba Beloki (ONCE, 3rd stage)

"It is clear that there are two riders who are above us: Armstrong and Ullrich. They have demonstrated that they are the best."

"My intention was to go for the second position on the general classification, when Ullrich fell, it was hard to push the advantage. I would have preferred to be a little more in front and he is clearly going to overtake Kivilev."

"There is one more mountain stage left and I will try again, tomorrow is the time. I hope that everything goes well and in Paris I can be on the podium."

Laurent Jalabert (CSC, 7th, best climber, most combative)

Jaja
Photo: © AFP

"I was going to spend a quiet day, because I had not been well on Friday. But, the opportunity came and I went with two or three attacks. My temperament got me through the rest. I went on the adventure."

"I thought of winning at one point when I saw the time difference at 9-10 minutes. The fall and the mechanical incident would not have changed anything; I would have been caught again."

Iñigo Chaurreau (Euskaltel, 9th stage)

"I have to thank the efforts of my whole team...He [Laiseka] had muscular problems, but he is very strong and he demonstrated that."

"Tomorrow is going to be exciting, to see what we can do because we can be good...Armstrong and Ullrich have a point over the rest."

Santiago Botero (Kelme, 11th stage)

"The team has worked very well. It is necessary to continue working and to aim for the teams classification."

Kelme currently have a 10'21 lead in this important classification.

Oscar Sevilla (Kelme, 12th stage)

"Today it was a very hard stage, but I regulated my effort, maintained it, and finished well. I did what I could, but I suffered just a little bit today."

"The Tour is the number one race in cycling, the atmosphere, the public...I am fulfilling a dream that I had in my head."

As for the podium in Paris, "The team deserves it, it would be nice to get to Paris and see us there."

Jose Luis Rubiera (USPS, 19th)

Chechu
Photo: © Sirotti

"Today was an incredible day. The peloton tried to go hard and drop the leaders. I managed to get back on the descent [of Val Louron]. Then Roberto Heras took over. At the end it was Lance, who was awesome."

François Simon (Bonjour, 31st)

"If I had lost the jersey by twenty seconds I would have been disappointed but it was four minutes. I will try to finish in the top six. I was dropped one climb too early. I don't have any regrets."

Laurent Roux (Jean Delatour, 42nd)

"I knew from the beginning that I had to be in the attack. I succeeded in going with the first break, but the cooperation was not good: the Spaniards did not want to ride."

"Jaja came up to me to indicate that he was going to attack on the Portet d'Aspet, but I could not follow. To connect all these climbs is really infernal."

Lucien Van Impe (Two time winner at Pla d'Adet, commentator for RTBF)

"Lance has won the race. All the riders who have won here have been good climbers. For me, Armstrong is a very good climber, small chainring, pedaling quickly and everything."

Alain Bondue (manager of Cofidis)

"It was a good day for us. Kivilev stays in 2nd on the General [classification]. It is satisfying, because we never thought that Andrei could seize the yellow jersey".

Jaja stars again

Laurent Jalabert
Photo: © Sirotti

Although he didn't manage to win his third Tour stage today to Pla d'Adet, CSC's Laurent Jalabert was certainly one of the key performers in another very tough stage, once again demonstrating his class in this race. Jalabert was away for a total of 162 kilometres (from km 27 to km 189) before he was steamrolled by the Armstrong express with 5 kilometres to the summit of Pla d'Adet.

On the way, he earned plenty of points (151 to be exact) for the King of the Mountains competition, as well as 49 points for the Most Combative rider. He clearly leads both classifications now, and certainly earned in the Pyrenees today.

His manager, Philippe Crépel, commented that "Lance Armstrong flies over the Tour, but Laurent makes his own mark."

"I was going to spend a quiet day, because I had not been well on Friday," commented Jalabert after the stage. "I didn't have the morale. But I got the chance when I went with two or three attacks. My temperament got me through the rest."

When Jalabert was finally caught with 5 km to go, "Armstrong nodded his head when he went past. I knew the significance of that. He invited me to follow, but I was fatigued. It was a privilege to see him go past."

On his fall near the bottom of Val Louron, which fortunately wasn't serious, Jalabert said that "Usually, I negotiate the descents well. There, I slowed down too much. But I was a little cooked. But this fall and the mechanical incident did not change anything. I would have been caught again. I needed nine minutes at the foot of the last climb."

"Tomorrow, I am likely to pay for my efforts. I do not believe that I will be able to defend it [the polka dot jersey]. However, every day I enjoy the contact that I have with the public." I have fought and that does not go unnoticed."

Armstrong's Tour history

Le Maillot Jaune
Photo: © Sirotti

Lance Armstrong is riding in his seventh Tour de France, and is on his way to winning his third Tour in a row, although it's not over yet of course. In total, he has worn the yellow jersey 28 times since his debut in 1993.

1993: 1 stage win (Verdun). Abandon
1994: Abandon
1995: 1 stage win (Limoges). 36th overall
1996: Abandon
1999: 4 stage wins (prologue in Puy-du-Fou, time trial in Metz, Sestrières, time trial in Futuroscope). 1st overall
2000: 1 stage win (time trial in Mulhouse). 1st overall
2001: 3 stage wins (L'Alpe d'Huez, time trial in Chamrousse, Saint-Lary-Soulan). Current GC leader

Nike director present at stage 13

Phil Knight
Photo: © Cyclingnews

The director of Nike sportswear, Phil Knight, was the guest of Johan Bruyneel in the US Postal team car today during stage 13. Knight had the privilege to watch Lance Armstrong (who is sponsored by Nike) win his third stage of the Tour, an emotion filled finish atop the Pla d'Adet, dedicated to former teammate Fabio Casartelli.

Knight was so taken with the spectacle of the Tour, that he expressed his desire for a stage in New York in future years. "It would be fantastic if the Tour de France visited the US in coming years," he said. "The Tour is getting very popular in America. LeMond was a pioneer. He introduced the Tour to his compatriots. Armstrong has in the last few years had an outstanding record in the Tour de France. A stage in New York would really help the Tour become more global."

Pyrenees first in 2002

The Tour de France 2002 starts in Luxembourg and will first tackle the Pyrenees, and afterwards the Alps. The organisers of the Tour announced this on Saturday. The complete parcours will announced in October.

12 riders drug tested, all OK

At 7:30 am this morning in Foix, three hours before the start of stage 13 of the Tour, twelve riders were woken by the UCI for blood controls. The CSC, Telekom (Jan Ullrich, Andreas Klöden, Alexander Vinokourov and Udo Bölts) and iBanesto teams were tested, and all riders were declared fit to start.

This is the second such control in the Tour, after 44 riders were tested before the start of stage 7 in Strasbourg. All riders in those controls were cleared as well. The only rider to fail a dope control is Euskaltel's Txema del Olmo, who tested positive to EPO (according to some sources) in the prologue.

Official communiqués

Weather
Hot and sunny morning. Sun at the beginning of the stage. The weather conditions may become heavy and stormy at the end of the parcours. Possible heavy storms and showers from 17:00. A weak wind from the south-east at the beginning of stage, swinging to southerly at the finish. Predicted temperatures: 18 degrees (Tourmalet) to 26 degrees. 19 degrees at the finish.

Medical
Xavier Jan (BigMat): Bad wounds and contusions on the right elbow. Superficial wounds of the shoulder and the right thigh. Transferred to hospital in Lannemezan for examination after the stage.
Bram De Groot (Rabobank): Examinations carried out Friday evening did not reveal of any fractures. Gradually gained consciousness on Friday evening. Facial wounds present. Authorized to leave the hospital in Perpignan on Sunday morning.

Commissaires decisions
Casper and Durand (FdJ): 20 seconds penalty for pacing in the slipstream of a vehicle.
Mattan (Cofidis), Laiseka (Euskaltel), Jan (BigMat): 10 seconds penalty for assistance given by directeur sportif.
Chanteur (Festina): 10 seconds penalty for holding onto a vehicle.

To the top ::      Back ::