Armstrong Eyeing 2010 Tour de France
It's dry and cozy inside. / Ecoxgear
For the past 3 weeks, Lance Armstrong looked as if he might pedal his way to a new record of eight Tour de France wins in a decisive comeback after his battle with testicular cancer.
But as the leaders sprinted up the Champs Elysees in Paris on Sunday, it was Armstrong's teammate Alberto Contador who took first place, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
Armstrong finished in third place, crossing the finish line more than five minutes after Contador.
The American cyclist, now 37 years old, says he's still proud of the result.
"Hey, I can't complain. For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium with these young guys - not so bad," Armstrong said.
Over the finish line, Armstrong raised a paper cup to one of the most demanding and famous races in the world.
The course loops 2,200 miles around France - the equivalent of cycling from New York to Salt Lake City.
Riders average 25 miles an hour over the course. The race includes 64 uphill sections - the most grueling of which is 13 miles long.
Armstrong made cycling history when he won the Tour de France every year between 1999 and 2005.
This was his first Tour after a four-year break, and, says Armstrong, it was just a warm-up.
He's already setting his sights on his next win -- in 2010.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. But as the leaders sprinted up the Champs Elysees in Paris on Sunday, it was Armstrong's teammate Alberto Contador who took first place, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
Armstrong finished in third place, crossing the finish line more than five minutes after Contador.
The American cyclist, now 37 years old, says he's still proud of the result.
"Hey, I can't complain. For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium with these young guys - not so bad," Armstrong said.
Over the finish line, Armstrong raised a paper cup to one of the most demanding and famous races in the world.
The course loops 2,200 miles around France - the equivalent of cycling from New York to Salt Lake City.
Riders average 25 miles an hour over the course. The race includes 64 uphill sections - the most grueling of which is 13 miles long.
Armstrong made cycling history when he won the Tour de France every year between 1999 and 2005.
This was his first Tour after a four-year break, and, says Armstrong, it was just a warm-up.
He's already setting his sights on his next win -- in 2010.
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There is almost no mention at all in the mational press about the Tour de France. Even on CSSnews.com, your story is listed as the seventh item (out of ten) on its Sports page, which takes a click or two to find in the first place. Nice going.
Lance made a spectacle of himself in another, fatal-character-flaw sort of way. He was a late comer to the race, trying to depose last year's winner, Alberto Contador, from the team. He did this by insinuating that Alberto was a trouble maker, not a team player, and not good enough to be in his presence even.
Lance's arrival to Team Astana was a global, public humiliation for Contador, which he handled extremely well. This is the most grueling race on the planet, and he won stage after stage by concentrating on his condition, the road, the other teams and their own champions (the race had many champions this year), and ignoring the sense of doom brought on by Lance's behavior within the team and even on television. Worldwide television.
This was highly ungracious of Lance. He gave a cold-fish, insulting handshake to Alberto on the podium, scorn on his face. Lance, was this scorn for Alberto, for Andy Schleck, for Astana, for Bruneel, for the Tour as a whole? Shameful behavior, even if it's meant to intimidate Alberto and others in the future. Lance, you owe the fans, and especially Alberto, a huge apology. Show some class.
As for yesterday in Paris, the first rider to cross the Finish Line was Mark Cavendish. Armstrong was the 62nd to cross and Andy Schleck was 63rd. Alberto Contador, the overall winner of Le Tour, was the 97th rider to cross the finish line yesterday. So Lance Armstrong did not cross the Finish Line 5-plus minutes behind Contador, yesterday, Sunday, July 26, at the end of Le Tour de France.
However, the riders above were all awarded the same riding time for yesterday as was Mark Cavendish, the winner of the Final Stage.
The day before in the big mountain climbing Stage 20 to the top of Mont Ventoux, Schleck, Contador and Armstrong were the 3rd, 4th and 5th riders to cross the Finish Line. Schleck and Contador were tied for riding time for Stage 20 and Armstrong was only 3 seconds behind Contador [not 5-plus minutes for the day's riding].
The total aggregated time for the 20th Stage, 2 days ago, Saturday, determined the overall winner and places for Le Tour de France for 2009. As reported by a previous commentator on this CBS story, Lance Armstrong's total time at the end of Saturday's 20th Stage was greater/longer than Alberto Contador's. To be precise, from the website of Le Tour de France, Contador had accumulated 81 hours 46 minutes and 17 seconds at his finish at the top of Mont Ventoux on Saturday. Armstrong's total accumulated time for 20 riding days was 5 minutes 24 seconds longer/greater.
Yesterday, Sunday, Contador and Armstrong were awarded the same Stage 21 Finish Time of 4 hours 2 minutes 18 seconds. This was added to Contador's accumulated time to yield his final total riding time of 85 hours 48 minutes 35 seconds. The same 4 hours 2 minutes and 18 seconds for Sundays final ride was added to Armstrong's accumulated riding time to give his grand total of 85 hours 53 minutes 59 seconds and Third Place in Le Tour.
I guess I see why news writers don't get it right.
http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/story/11970316