BARCELONA, Spain, July 9, 2009
Tour de Force: Armstrong Gaining On Leader
U.S. Cyclist Split-Second From First Place In Tour de France
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Lance Armstrong arrives to sign the start list ahead of the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, Thursday July 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
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Photo Essay 2009 Tour de France The Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometers.
Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland kept the yellow jersey, with just a split-second lead over Lance Armstrong after the 112.8-mile course from Gerona to Barcelona.
Hushovd, of the Cervelo team, collected his seventh Tour stage win by edging out two Spaniards - three-time world champion Oscar Freire in second, and Jose Joaquin Rojas in third - in the final sprint.
They clocked 4 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds for the stage, the same time as 40 other riders including seven-time Tour champion Armstrong and Cancellara in the main pack of favorites.
Breakaway riders including Britain's David Millar repeatedly attacked, only to be reeled in by the finish. He was caught with little more than one kilometer (0.6 mile) left to go.
The race heads to the first big mountain challenge with Friday's ride into the Pyrenees from Barcelona to Arcalis, Andorra.
The Tour ends July 26 in Paris.
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- Tour de Lance
big Kudos - Reply to this comment
- I thought he was one second behind yesterday? Anyway, it sounds like quite an event. Go Lance, do us proud!
- Reply to this comment
- Doesn't anyone do any research at CBS ?
Armstrong is not "gaining on the leader", he's been tied for first place since Yesterday.....0:00 gap
Going for a un-matchable record of 8 tour wins ! - Reply to this comment
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