Armstrong Keeps Overall Lead at Tour

Lance Armstrong came within a hair’s-breadth of disaster in the challenging ninth stage of the Tour de France on Monday, narrowly missing a harrowing crash involving Joseba Beloki, one of his main rivals.

Beloki slipped off his bike speeding around a bend on a rapid downhill section near the finish, and hit the road hard. Armstrong, just behind, just missed plowing into the Spaniard. Beloki was taken away in an ambulance.