Spain's fearless young climber Oscar Sevilla, riding high in eighth place in his first Tour de France, will step up his bid for a podium spot in Paris, even if the race is only for second. Lance Armstrong looks an irresistible force, as he bids for his third successive yellow jersey, after claiming back-to-back stage wins in the Alps.
But with the other pre-race favourites Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki and Christophe Moreau unable to match the Texan, the race is very much on over the next 10 days for places. And Sevilla, who currently holds the white jersey for best young rider, is unfazed by the company he is keeping.
The 24-year-old Kelme rider, who is 19 minutes 31 seconds behind race leader Francois Simon going into the Pyrenees, admitted: "Lance Armstrong is a little ahead of all of us. But there are a lot of riders capable of claiming a place on the podium. Ullrich, Beloki, Moreau, we're all at the same level, more or less, and I think we've all got the same chance."
Sevilla has improved steadily since turning professional with the Spanish team Kelme in 1998. He took 13th place in the Giro d'Italia in 1999 and posted top 20 finishes in both the Giro and the Tour of Spain last year. In the Vuelta he was charged with helping his then team leader Roberto Heras through the mountains and on to victory. Heras subsequently joined Armstrong at U.S. Postal, giving Sevilla the opportunity to ride the Tour for the first time alongside Santiago Botero, the Colombian who was crowned King of the Mountains last year.
Botero is a place behind Sevilla in the overall standings and the team's sporting director Vicente Belda is delighted with the way the Tour is panning out. Belda insisted: "They're joint leaders of the team. It doesn't matter at all if Sevilla is ahead of Botero. There's still a lot of Tour to come and they're both capable of doing well. I'd like to see Botero on the podium and Sevilla winning the white jersey." (Reuters)
Filed by Shane Murray
