Tour de France News for July 21, 2003 Edited by Chris Henry & Jeff Jones Stage 14 quotes Andrea Peron (CSC, 4th at 3") "I went all out on the climb of the Peyresourde, telling myself I could come back to the three leaders. I did the descent flat out as well, and when I caught them I attacked right away. I wanted to catch them by surprise, hoping they would concentrate on each other, but I was wrong. Unfortunately I only had to strength for one attack." Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi, 7th at 41") "The Tour de France is a long race. There are days when you win, and others when you lose. The important thing is to keep your morale, and that's what I'm trying to do. That's how I improve. The climb of the Peyresourde, with the tide of orange [Basque supporters, Ed.], was impressive." Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi, 9th at 1'24") "With the exception of Vinokourov, everyone is a bit tired for the moment. For now I'm satisfied with my 4thplace overall. This is all new to me, and the key to the Tour is consistency. [Today] we'll see the decisive stage of the Tour." Jan Ullrich (Bianchi, 12th at 1'24") "I'm very proud of my team, which showed [Sunday] that we're not a second-tier team, as some people would like to say. I had thought about attacking, but I was worried about getting stuck in the headwind. When Vinokourov attacked, I asked Armstrong to share the work in chasing, but he refused. It was only on the descent of the Peyresourde that he started pulling." Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole, 13th at 2'14") "I saw [Saturday] that I could ride with the best. To be able to attack is great. [Yesterday] was a good opportunity for me, because just following wheels is not always the best solution. I took some time on the riders ahead of me on GC, and each day I'm progressing. I'm recovering well and the legs feel good." Verbrugghe hits his limit Rik Verbrugghe, who crashed at the beginning of Saturday's stage 13, found himself suffering too much to continue. The Lotto-Domo rider was forced to abandon on the Col de Menté Sunday, in tears on his bike, despite his best efforts to carry on. "I could only breathe 60%," Verbrugghe told Belgian Radio 1. "It felt like someone was poking a knife in my back. According to me my ribs are strained. I can't take deep breaths. I wanted to try and follow a group that was riding a tempo I thought I could handle; but I didn't make it." Lotto-Domo will carry on with its main objective, to put Robbie McEwen in the green jersey by the Tour's end in Paris. Heras weakened US Postal's climbing ace Roberto Heras has been handicapped by bronchitis, suffering enough that he was dropped on the Col du Portillon Sunday and was unable to force the pace for yellow jersey Lance Armstrong as he did so brilliantly in 2002. Even at the beginning of Monday's stage 15, Heras was seen at the back of the peloton, taking up some domestique duties and fetching bottles from the team car. As directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel noted, "from this point on we're down one climber." Previous News    Next News (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003)

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