Steady
04-26-2005, 12:30 PM
Armstrong struggles in time trial
By PAUL NEWBERRY
ROME, Ga. (AP) - Lance Armstrong has plenty of work to do if he wants to win a seventh straight Tour de France.
Armstrong finished a disappointing ninth in Thursday's time trial at the Tour de Georgia, nearly two minutes behind the winner in a go-all-out style of cycling he usually dominates. Another American, Floyd Landis, won the third stage in 39 minutes, 58.09 seconds. The other spots on the podium also were claimed by U.S. riders - David Zabriskie in second and Christopher Baldwin third.
Shockingly, Armstrong was not among them. Racing in a light rain, he failed to make up ground on the climb up Mount Alto and had no chance of closing the gap by the time he pedalled onto the slick streets of downtown Rome.
"Clearly, I'm disappointed," said Armstrong, who could only manage a time of 41:44.87. "I didn't feel great, but I thought I'd do a better ride than that. I'm disappointed and (it) clearly shows I have some work to do."
Armstrong plans to retire this summer after going for a seventh straight victory in the Tour de France. Already, he's the only cyclist to win the world's most famous race six times.
The Tour de Georgia is a tuneup along the way, a six-day chance for Armstrong to gauge his conditioning against the best field that will be assembled on Americans roads .
He won this race a year ago, taking control in the time trial held over the same 30-kilometre course in northwest Georgia. Armstrong's winning time was 39:51.78 - far better than he managed Thursday as leader of the Discovery Channel team.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Cycling/2005/04/21/1007343-ap.html
By PAUL NEWBERRY
ROME, Ga. (AP) - Lance Armstrong has plenty of work to do if he wants to win a seventh straight Tour de France.
Armstrong finished a disappointing ninth in Thursday's time trial at the Tour de Georgia, nearly two minutes behind the winner in a go-all-out style of cycling he usually dominates. Another American, Floyd Landis, won the third stage in 39 minutes, 58.09 seconds. The other spots on the podium also were claimed by U.S. riders - David Zabriskie in second and Christopher Baldwin third.
Shockingly, Armstrong was not among them. Racing in a light rain, he failed to make up ground on the climb up Mount Alto and had no chance of closing the gap by the time he pedalled onto the slick streets of downtown Rome.
"Clearly, I'm disappointed," said Armstrong, who could only manage a time of 41:44.87. "I didn't feel great, but I thought I'd do a better ride than that. I'm disappointed and (it) clearly shows I have some work to do."
Armstrong plans to retire this summer after going for a seventh straight victory in the Tour de France. Already, he's the only cyclist to win the world's most famous race six times.
The Tour de Georgia is a tuneup along the way, a six-day chance for Armstrong to gauge his conditioning against the best field that will be assembled on Americans roads .
He won this race a year ago, taking control in the time trial held over the same 30-kilometre course in northwest Georgia. Armstrong's winning time was 39:51.78 - far better than he managed Thursday as leader of the Discovery Channel team.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Cycling/2005/04/21/1007343-ap.html