Armstrong holds off another challenge; Serrano wins stage

Tour de France challengers gave their last gasp and Lance Armstrong hardly broke a sweat. The hilly 18th stage was more difficult than it looked on paper, but the result was the same for the six-time Tour champion. He easily answered what were likely the final attacks of his cycling career to retain his stranglehold on the yellow jersey.

The accelerations came on the steepest road in this year's Tour, the 10-percent grades of the sudden, but short climb to an airstrip above the town of Mende in France's Massif Central. Spanish rider Marcos Serrano won the stage after breaking away early. Armstrong rolled across the line 12th beside rivals Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso to maintain his comfortable lead with just three stages to go.

Thursday's stage was run under baking sun and had five climbs, including the steep final ascent that winds up from Mende to a nearby aerodrome. That ascent is not that long - 1.9 miles - but climbs at a very steep gradient averaging 10.1 percent.

Armstrong will now be able to enjoy what will essentially be a three-day victory parade to Paris, where hundreds of thousands of fans will greet the Tour peloton Sunday in the annual spectacle on the Champs Elysees. Armstrong only needs to avoid a major mishap or illness to win the Tour for an unprecedented seventh time.

The Texan seems keen to enjoy his final days in the peloton. He's been chatting with other riders in the easier part of the stages and spending more time signing autographs for fans. But it's all over for Armstrong on Sunday.

Another hilly route through central France awaits Friday before the time trial on Saturday that should fix the finishing order for the leading riders for good before Sunday's final ride into Paris. Saturday's time trial stage at St. Etienne presents Armstrong's last chance to grab a stage victory in this year's Tour, but he'd be just fine with winning a seventh Tour even without taking a stage.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Jan Ullrich finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -273 NO +253

Will Lance Armstrong have NO stage wins? YES +201 NO -221

Will Alexandre Vinokourov finish in Top 6 of Tour de France? YES +122 NO -132

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Bet on McEwen or Hushovd to win the next stage.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Just four more to go for Armstrong

There was a double celebration inside Lance Armstrong's air-conditioned Discovery Channel team bus after the longest stage in the Tour de France. Paolo Savoldelli won the 148.8-mile 17th stage from Pau to Revel, while Armstrong moved closer to an unprecedented seventh Tour victory.

There were hugs at the finish line for their teammate, who won as part of an early breakaway, but the real party will be Sunday in Paris for Armstrong's crowning moment on the Champs Elysees. With four relatively easy stages remaining and the major climbs already in the history books, only a crash or illness could deny Armstrong.

His lead time of 2:46 over Ivan Basso of Italy and CSC remained unchanged. Michael Rasmussen, a Dane with Rabobank, remained third, 3:09 behind, with Jan Ullrich, a German with T-Mobile, fourth, 5:58 behind. With two stages and a time trial remaining, only a catastrophic crash is likely to keep Armstrong from winning his seventh title when the cyclists ride into Paris on Sunday.

The Discovery Channel team had been criticized during the early stages of this Tour for not giving Armstrong his usual dominant support, but as this Tour nears the end, the team's collective haul is unprecedented. Until this year, no teammate of Armstrong's had won a stage. Now Hincapie and Savoldelli have won, while Armstrong, uncharacteristically, has not won a stage, though he is favored in the time trial Saturday.

Armstrong claimed the yellow jersey for the 79th time, tying five-time Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault. The only rider who has more is Eddy Merckx, who won 111 yellow jerseys from 1969 to 1977.

Behind the scenes, the champagne is on ice. Discovery Channel representatives are putting the finishing touches on a huge bash Sunday night at the exclusive Paris Ritz hotel.

More than 600 guests along with riders, family and friends will attend the private soiree. Among the VIPs expected are 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, actor Will Ferrell, director Steven Spielberg and of course, Armstrong's rock star girlfriend Sheryl Crow.

As he's done the last few years, Armstrong will stay overnight in a private suite in the palatial Hotel de Crillon with the Texas flag flying in honor.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Jan Ullrich finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -154 NO +144

Will Lance Armstrong have NO stage wins? YES +183 NO -203

Will Floyd Landis finish in Top 6 of Tour de France? YES +780 NO -860

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: It will be another stage win for breakaway riders. Bet on Mayo, Botero or Savoldelli again.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Armstrong on cruise control; Lance maintains lead as Tour heads toward Paris

The spectacular view atop the Col d'Aubisque high in the Pyrenees was obscured with clouds Tuesday, but for Lance Armstrong, it was the sunniest day of the three-week Tour de France. The craggy mountain pass marked the final difficult challenge in Armstrong's farewell Tour. From here to Paris, where the 92nd Tour ends Sunday, it's figuratively downhill all the way.

Coming out of the Pyrenees, Armstrong finished a meaningless 36th in a group of his main rivals to maintain his lead of nearly three minutes in the overall standings of least elapsed time. He easily answered attacks by two of those rivals, Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich, in the mountains today.

Oscar Pereiro, the Spanish rider who was beaten by Armstrong teammate George Hincapie in Sunday's epic mountain stage, won as part of a four-man breakaway. He was still smarting before this 16th stage about the 15th, on Sunday. He finished second then, when Hincapie pulled away in the last few hundred meters to win the two-man sprint after six trying climbs in the Pyrenees.

During a 70-kilometer descent into Pau that was led by Cadel Evans, an Australian with Davitamon, Pereiro caught him, then punctured, had his rear wheel replaced and went on to catch Evans again. In a four-man group with Xabier Zandio, a Spaniard with Illes Balears, and Eddy Mazzoleni, an Italian with Lampre, they steamed into Pau more than two minutes ahead of any pursuit and launched a sprint to the line, which Pereiro won by half a wheel.

Archrivals Basso - second overall at 2:46 behind - and Ullrich tried to shake Armstrong on the long, 10-mile climb up the Aubisque, but the six-time champion easily kept pace. With no major shakeups in the overall standings, Armstrong knows he's one day closer to an unprecedented seventh victory and one day closer to retirement.

Armstrong is relishing his final week as a professional. He's taking quiet moments with teammates, enjoying more time with the fans, stopping to pose for pictures, sign autographs and even entertaining more questions from the media as the sometimes frosty relationship with the European press shows signs of warming up.

Moments after wrapping up the post-race podium ceremony, Armstrong was already looking ahead to Saturday's decisive time trial in St. Etienne when he's expected to widen his lead and perhaps win a stage for the first time this year.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Jan Ullrich finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -177 NO +167

Will Lance Armstrong have NO stage wins? YES +192 NO -207

Will Floyd Landis finish in Top 6 of Tour de France? YES +415 NO -455

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Next stage is a sprinter's stage so it will be a toss-up between McEwen, Hushovd and McGrady. Bet on McEwen to win.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Tour now a race for second; Basso concedes

Lance Armstrong is hoping the final week of the 2005 Tour de France will be as uneventful as the first two. Armstrong enjoyed the Tour's second rest day Monday to recharge the batteries and only wants to avoid trouble in the six-stage ride between the Pyrenees and Paris.

On Sunday, Armstrong rolled out of two punishing days in the Pyrenees to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Basso and the other skinny climbers couldn't crack Armstrong in Sunday's brutal six-climb stage and eternal threat Jan Ullrich ceded more time to sit fourth at 5:58 back. Armstrong's opening two weeks of the Tour have gone flawlessly. He's been able to respond to attacks from all sides, even when his Discovery Channel team left him vulnerable in the high mountains. The final, six-stage run into Paris favors Armstrong, whose main concern will be to avoid crashing or falling ill.

Even Tuesday's final climbing stage through the Pyrenees favors Armstrong's position. The last major climb comes about 40 miles from the flat run to the finish line, giving Armstrong plenty of time to reel in any dangerous riders who might slip away.

Wednesday's and Friday's stages tip riders looking for a lone stage win while Thursday's stage to Mende, with a short, but steep finishing climb, could give Armstrong some trouble only if he has a bad day.

Saturday's time trial in St. Etienne will give Armstrong a chance to take a stage victory that's eluded him so far this year while Sunday's finale on the Champs Elysees will be Armstrong's final - and the team hopes triumphant - exit.

Even Armstrong's rivals admit the Tour is now a race for second. Italy's Ivan Basso is happy to be in second place behind Armstrong in the Tour de France, saying the Texan is almost impossible to beat although he has not given up all hope of catching him.

Basso failed to gain time on Armstrong during the mountain climbs of the Pyrenees but he did move past Jan Ullrich of Germany and Michael Rasmussen of Denmark. Rasmussen is now third, 3:09 behind Armstrong, and Ullrich is fourth at 5:58.

The 92nd Tour de France continues Tuesday with the 112.1-mile 16th stage from Mourenx to Pau, looping over the final serious climbs of the 2005 Tour. The course climbs the 5,640-foot Col d'Aubisque just past the midway mark and then rolls along mostly flat roads to the finish in Pau, which will host its 59th Tour stage.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Jan Ullrich finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -151 NO +141

Will Thor Hushovd win the Green Jersey? YES -121 NO +111

Will Floyd Landis finish in To 6 of Tour de France? YES +360 NO -400

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Bet on Armstrong, Basso or Leipheimer to win the next stage.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Hincapie bolts out of supporting role; wins Tour's 15th stage

George Hincapie has ridden with Lance Armstrong through all the Tour de France wins. Hincapie has shepherded Armstrong through heat and cold, windy mountaintops and broiling black top, he has ridden first on Armstrong's team or last, has always done what was asked. For six years Hincapie has been the only constant teammate, always in the background as Armstrong broke cycling records and made history.

Sunday, with the temperatures climbing to 96 degrees, with six mountains to climb, with hundreds of thousands of Basque fans swarming the roads wearing bright orange shirts and howling for any Spaniard in the race, Hincapie created the greatest day of his cycling career.

Outsprinting Spain's Oscar Pereiro in the final 250 meters, Hincapie won his first stage at the Tour and became only the eighth American in history to do so. Hincapie, 32, finished the 127.7-mile ride in the Pyrenees in 6 hours 6 minutes 38 seconds, and when he crossed the finish line Hincapie put his hands over his face.

Armstrong and Italy's Ivan Basso finished together, 5:04 behind Hincapie. Armstrong, 33 and aiming for his seventh straight Tour victory before he retires, is first overall. Basso, a CSC rider who finished third last year, moved into second, 2:46 behind Armstrong while Danish climbing expert Mickael Rasmussen dropped from second to third and now 3:09 behind the leader. Armstrong's nemesis, 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich, dropped an additional 1:24 to Armstrong Sunday and is fourth, 5:58 behind. Two other Americans - Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner and Floyd Landis of Phonak - are sixth and seventh.

Basso echoed the mood of the peloton - that Sunday's massive climbing stage was the last realistic chance for Armstrong's pursuers to gain significant time on him.

Hincapie, a lanky 6-foot-3, 175-pound New Yorker who married one of the podium girls (the young women who present stage winners with their flowers and with kisses on the cheek), said his first Tour stage win was the most important of his career.

This stage ended with a six-mile climb to the top of this ski resort. With about two miles left only Hincapie and Pereiro were left at the front. While Hincapie isn't known as a climbing specialist he said he has worked hard at that aspect of the sport.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Jan Ullrich finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -127 NO +117

Will Thor Hushovd win the Green Jersey? YES -111 NO +101

Will Floyd Landis finish in To 6 of Tour de France? YES +360 NO -400

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Bet on Armstrong, Basso or Leipheimer to win the next stage.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Armstrong extends lead at Tour de France

Lance Armstrong has beaten the odds his entire life, so the story line didn't change in Saturday's heated battle over the Pyrenees when the tables were turned against him.

Jan Ullrich's T-Mobile team ganged up on Armstrong in the grueling 137-mile 14th stage, but the six-time champion answered every challenge to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey with just a week to go in the 2005 Tour de France.

Austrian rider Georg Totschnig held on from an early attack to win the stage on a mountain-top finish while Armstrong left a trail of suffering bike racers in his wake as he crossed the line second at 56 seconds slower.

It didn't look like it was going to be so easy for Armstrong on the knee-busting nine-mile ascent up the Port de Pailheres, the day's first of two punishing climbs as temperatures soared into the 90s. Armstrong, 33, was quickly isolated without teammates when Ullrich's helpers, Andreas Klöden and Alexandre Vinokourov, upped the pace.

Armstrong turned on the turbos up the final five-mile charge to the ski station at Ax-3 Domaines, whittling the lead group of 11 riders down to just Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich. Armstrong then dropped the struggling Ullrich, now fourth overall at 4:34 back, and put serious distance on Rasmussen. The only rider strong enough to follow was Basso, the promising Italian who finished third last year.

Rasmussen, the skinny Danish rider who started the stage just 38 seconds back, couldn't follow Armstrong's accelerations midway up the final climb. On both mountains, Armstrong responded powerfully to attacks by Basso and Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan, with T-Mobile. Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich were together with just a few kilometers to go, when Armstrong accelerated, leaving Ullrich behind. Then Armstrong sprinted for second place and the 12 bonus seconds.

Sunday's six-climb 15th stage has all the ingredients for an Armstrong epic. So far winless in this year's Tour, Armstrong hinted he'd like to win the stage in what will be his final mountain-top finish in his racing career.

Armstrong won't be going home until Sunday, when the Tour de France ends in Paris. If he has his way, he'll be wearing the yellow jersey all the way to the Champs Elysees.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Lance Armstrong win Stage 15?
YES +133 NO -143

Will Thor Hushovd win the Green Jersey?
YES -112 NO +102

Will Yaroslav Popovych win the White Jersey?
YES -300 NO +270

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Sprinters Stage! With the withdrawal of Tom Boonen, Robbie McEwen now has no legitimate challenger for the green jersey. He'll definitely win Stage 13.

for more 2005 Tour de France Betting Tips, Odds, Picks and Predictions, click here: Tour de France Betting

Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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Armstong loses teammate, but stays in front

Lance Armstrong kept the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, but one of his key teammates was left black and blue after crashing out early in Thursday's hilly romp out of the French Alps.

David Moncoutie gave the French something to cheer about with a solo victory on Bastille Day, but Manuel Beltran, one of Armstrong's eight Discovery Channel teammates, fell in the 116.2-mile 12th stage.

The 34-year-old Spaniard crashed face-first when another rider clipped his front wheel. Beltran tried to continue for another 10 miles, but Tour doctors ordered him into an ambulance.

The crash occurred on the last of three days in the Alps, covering 187 kilometers, or 116 miles, over five minor climbs from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains in the lower Alps of Provence. Another victim of crashes, Tom Boonen, the ace Belgian sprinter for Quick Step and the leader in the points competition, also withdrew today. He won two early stages in the 21-stage Tour and then began suffering from a series of falls, including one Wednesday .

Brain scans at a hospital in Gap, France, revealed no major injuries, but Beltran was being held overnight for observation. The hard crash left him dazed with cuts and scrapes and a possible concussion.

With the Tour set to turn upward into the Pyrenees for three decisive climbing stages starting Saturday, Beltran's departure couldn't have come at a worse time.

The featherweight Beltran (5-10, 132) is one of Armstrong's most reliable climbers. The 11-year pro has been part of Armstrong's dominant team effort since 2003 and helps set a blistering pace on the steep climbs that prevents other riders from attacking.

Beltran, 34, is the first Armstrong teammate to abandon the Tour since 2001. In a testament to the team's fortitude, all nine members have finished the Tour in 2000 and 2002-04. In 2001, American racer Christian Vande Velde broke his arm in a crash. In 1999, two riders were forced out with injuries.

Despite the setback, Armstrong was in firm control Thursday and maintained his comfortable lead to his major rivals. Climbing specialist Michael Rasmussen remained close at second at 38 seconds back.

2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds from: PinnacleSports

Betting Propositions:

Will Robbie McEwen win Stage 13? YES +206 NO -226

Will Thor Hushovd win the Green Jersey? YES -116 NO +106

Will Ivan Basso finish Top 3 in Tour de France? YES -130 NO +120

For live 2005 Tour de France Betting Game Odds and Lines, just click here: PinnacleSports . There are wide array of 2005 Tour De France betting propositions to choose from including odds to win the 2005 Tour de France, stage by stage head-to-head matchups and many more.

Prediction: Sprinters Stage! With the withdrawal of Tom Boonen, Robbie McEwen now has no legitimate challenger for the green jersey. He'll definitely win Stage 13.

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Technorati: Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France, 2005 Tour de France, Tour de France 2005, Cycling, Cycling Betting, cycling betting tips, Andreas Kloden

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