Armstrong Sets the Stage

American Poised to Take Command in Tour de France

PARIS, July 17 -- Defying the weight of history and a talented field of determined opponents, American cyclist Lance Armstrong on Saturday powered his way to victory in the 13th and most difficult stage of the Tour de France, seizing control of the three-week-long race and setting up what would be an unprecedented sixth win when the race ends next weekend in Paris.

Armstrong's stage victory in the brutal Pyrenees mountains -- after a 127.7-mile ride that included seven huge peaks -- was not enough to earn him the overall race leader's yellow jersey. But he is in second place and in the past two mountain stages has whittled Frenchman Thomas Voeckler's lead from nine minutes to just 22 seconds.

A victory in Sunday's stage likely would put the yellow jersey on his back all the way to the Champs-Elysees. Barring injury or accident, Armstrong, 32, appears poised to accomplish what only three other riders have tried, but failed, do to: win a sixth Tour de France and cement his position as the most dominant rider in the sport's 100-year history.

"It was a really hard stage, the most difficult of the Tour this year," Armstrong said afterward on French television. "But like I've always said, the Tour finishes in Paris. Now there's still the Alps and a lot of dangerous stages."

Armstrong also will face two time trial tests of speed before he can be assured of victory on July 25. But he has performed well in the Alps in the past -- they are relatively easier than the Pyrenees -- and his speed makes him one of the Tour's most versatile, and formidable, riders. Armstrong already had crossed into the pantheon of cycling greats; only he and Spanish Basque rider Miguel Indurain, who dominated the race in the early 1990s, have won five consecutive Tours. Three others have won five Tours in non-consecutive years.

And while a sixth consecutive Tour win would itself be impressive enough for the history books, it also comes only six years after his battle with life-threatening testicular cancer, a fight that he was given less than a 50 percent chance of winning. His victory led him to establish the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which has aided millions of cancer sufferers. He is also an adviser to President George W. Bush, a fellow Texan, on cancer issues.

As Saturday's race under sunny skies moved over the successively difficult peaks and hairpin curves, only one rider, Ivan Basso of Italy, was able to keep pace. In Friday's race, Basso just edged Armstrong in the end. But on Saturday, Armstrong sprinted past the Italian in a late surge to capture the stage win over narrow roads crowded with excited fans.

"The team was great," Armstrong said of his teammates; they are sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. "It was a dream."

Other rivals were left abandoned far back in the pack. German Jan Ullrich -- who before the race had said confidently, "It's important that someone finally shows Lance that there's someone better" -- is 6 minutes 39 seconds behind Armstrong, and according to the Associated Press, conceded he could not catch his rival: " . . . I must admit: Lance appears to be unbeatable this year."

Last year, Armstrong won the Tour by just 61 seconds, after a race, marred by mishaps and accidents, that the Texan later conceded was not his best.

Another challenger, Tyler Hamilton -- a former teammate of Armstrong's who has remained friends with him since leaving the Postal team -- was forced to pull out Saturday because of a bad back. Hamilton had become a fan favorite after his gritty performance in the 2003 Tour, when he finished the race while suffering from a broken collar bone, even managing to win a stage.

Spanish Basque rider Iban Mayo, considered a potential rival to Armstrong after winning June's warmup race, the Dauphine Libere, almost gave up his bid in the mountains, getting off his bike and preparing to abandon the race before being convinced by his Euskaltel team to continue trying. But his Tour chances are considered nil this year.

Yet another casualty was Roberto Heras, another former Armstrong teammate, who was unimpressive on the slopes after quitting U.S. Postal for a solo run at the top.

Even with the path set for victory, Armstrong was taking nothing for granted and was careful not to diminish the potential of his remaining rivals. He called Basso "very, very impressive."