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Armstrong's Team Wins Tour Time Trial

Posted on: Wednesday, 9 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Lance Armstrong's team won a time trial Wednesday, putting him in good position for another Tour de France title as he approaches the Alps.

Armstrong's teammate, Victor Hugo Pena, claimed the yellow jersey as overall leader. He is the first Colombian to wear the jersey in the Tour's 100-year history.

"Sure, I'll be the one wearing the yellow jersey," Pena told French TV. "But this is a victory for the team. It's one of the best teams that's ever existed in the world."

Cycling's premier event began in earnest with the time trial, and Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service squad won the event for the first time.

Armstrong entered the day in 12th place, and the victory in the 43-mile leg clearly strengthened his standing as he bids for a record-tying fifth straight championship.

"I'd never won this discipline before," Armstrong said. "It was quite a hard course, with the wind - lots of wind. ... It's a very, very hard discipline."

U.S. Postal, wearing tear drop-shaped helmets and riding aerodynamic bikes to go faster, won in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 27 seconds. It was the team's first win on this Tour.

The win gave U.S. Postal a lead of 30 seconds over the second-placed ONCE team and 43 seconds over the Bianchi team. Both squads have riders who could threaten Armstrong.

"Today is a great day for us," Armstrong teammate George Hincapie said. "It took us four years to win."

Armstrong wanted to use the time trial to build a lead over his competitors before the Tour heads into the Alps on Saturday. Armstrong, who excels in the mountains, is aiming to match Spanish great Miguel Indurain's record of five straight wins.

"This is simply the proof that when he wants to be, Armstrong can also be the best teammate in the world," Pena said.

Before the time trial, Armstrong had been content to play it safe while others sweated for wins in the early stages. He finished 69th in Tuesday's third stage, intent on conserving energy and avoiding crashes.

Now the U.S. Postal victory could have a psychological impact on his rivals.

"Lance can time trial well and then match the best climbers in the mountains, or even beat them," Tyler Hamilton, a former Armstrong teammate, said before the trial. "He has this incredible pain threshold. He reaches his limit and then just holds it there."

Armstrong, as much a student of race tactics as he is a fearsome competitor, felt racing last Wednesday would help.

"It's a huge advantage," he said before the time trial, which began in Joinville.

Entering Wednesday, the leader was Jean-Patrick Nazon, who finished 14th Tuesday. The rider for the French Jean Delatour team was the first Frenchman since Francois Simon in 2001 to hold the overall lead.

"People will remember that I'm the first French rider in a yellow jersey at this centennial," he said.

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