Defending champion Lance Armstrong today captured Stage 10 of the Tour de France, beating his close rival, Jan Ullrich, by one minute 59 seconds on the slopes of L'Alpe d'Huez with Spaniard Joseba Beloki in third spot. Armstrong is on course for a third consecutive Tour title and he improved his chances with a brilliant fightback on the 209-kilometre stage today. Francois Simon took the yellow jersey from Australian Stuart O'Grady after today's stage but it was Armstrong's stunning finish that had everybody talking.
The Texan rider seemed to be struggling for most of the stage while Ullrich and his Telekom team-mates dictated the pace up at the front of the peloton. However, on the final climb of the day and what many believe to be the toughest of the whole Tour, Armstrong powered his way to the front pulled away from Ullrich and the rest of the chasing pack. With stage leader Laurent Roux in his sights, the American attacked once more and passed him with little difficulty.
Armstrong is now fourth in the general classification, 20 minutes and seven seconds behind Simon but will be hoping he can narrow that gap even further during tomorrow's 32-km mountain time trial from Grenoble to Chamrousse.
"I hope to keep the lead until we get to the Pyrenees," Simon said after today's stage. "I have 20 minutes on Armstrong and 12 on Andrei Kivilev. I would normally lose between 10 and 12 minutes but I think I'll be able to find enough energy to stay in yellow tomorrow."
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
