July 18, 2002 (La Mongie, France) – All the rumours about chinks in Lance
Armstrong’s
armour were put to rest today with his stunning victory and capture of the
Yellow Jersey. Today was certainly an important stage,with more to come,
for Armstrong (USPS) to set the tone of the race and senda message to his
rivals. On a long stage with several climbs, the peloton was
shattered to a smaller and smaller size. Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali), the
opportunist who was trying to make amends for earlier bad luck, was caught a
few kilometers from the line after a breakaway attempt. Spanish hope and
last year’s 3rd place overall, Joseba Beloki (ONCE-Eroski), finished with
Armstrong, losing a few seconds in the final metres. His teammate and a former
Yellow Jersey wearer, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (ONCE-Eroski), could not
keep up with the fast pace on the final climb and conceded almost 2 minutes.
Stage 11 – Pau – La Mongie, 158 km
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 4.21.57
2. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 0.07
3. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) US Postal Service 0.13
4. Francisco Mancebo (Spa) iBanesto.com 1.16
5. Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Lampre Daikin
6. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.23
7. Ivan Basso (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
8. Andrei Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis 1.34
9. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali 1.49
10. José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 1.52
11. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 1.54
12. Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.57
13. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis
14. David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 1.59
15. Unai Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com
16. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.02
17. Stephane Goubert (Fra) Jean Delatour 2.23
18. Marcos A.Serrano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 2.24
19. Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Tiscali
20. Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca
Overall:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 40.47.38
2. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 1.12
3. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 1.48
4. Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Lampre Daikin 3.32
5. Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 4.13
6. José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 4.31
7. Marcos Serrano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 5.17
8. Ivan Basso (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 5.22
9. Francisco Mancebo (Spa) iBanesto.com 5.33
10. Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 5.35