Lance Armstrong’s Team Astana rode a nearly perfect team time trial today. Going into the today’s ride, Lance Armstrong was 40 seconds down and in third place. Lance led Astana up to Fabian Cancellara’s 40 second lead, and Lance Armstrong is only a fraction of a second from the leader's yellow jersey after stage four of the Tour De France.
Now it’s way too early to predict an overall win for Armstrong, but being so close to yellow will make Armstrong hungrier. Today’s time trial win is a huge psychological win for Armstrong, who laid down the hammer during today’s time trial. Today, Armstrong made the statement I am here to win. He didn’t sit back and allow his team to pull him. He pulled his team and set the speed to put him in yellow, which is the true mark of a champion.
The Tour De France heads into the mountains this weekend. The mountains hold the secret whether Armstrong, at 37 and absent from the Tour De France since his final win in 2005, will be a contender for his eighth Tour De France victory. This Tour could be similar to the 1985 and 86 Tours in which teammates Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault, teammates on the La Vie Claire team, viciously battled for an overall victory. Armstrong will have to battle teammate Alberto Contador if he wants the win.
2 comments:
I never thought Lance would make a move this early in the race. He usually comes attacking later in the game. I guess this means his ego will help him carry through to a win, not like his ego needs any more boosting. Though, whether he wins or loses, I hope men everywhere take after his athleticism, not his personality.
Great post ecrunner. I agree with you about the athletcism over his personality. He became too Hollywood, and I would even go back to his earliest days in the pro peloton and acknowledge his attitude. When he is on the bike, it is an incredible site.
I can't believe how much time he put between him and some key competitors. I guess we will know more when the race hits the mountains this weekend.
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