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Stage 15
Escartin
triumphs in 15th Tour stage
By Francois Thomazeau
Fernando Escartin
of Spain celebrates as he wins the 173km 15th stage of the
Tour de France cycling race from Saint-Gaudens to Piau-Engaly,
south western France July 20. Lance Armstrong of the USA
retains his leader's yellow jersey jna/Photo by Jean-Paul
Pelissier REUTERS
|
PIAU-ENGALY, France, July
20 - Spanish rider Fernando Escartin broke away on his own in the
Pyrenees to score his first stage win in a major tour, taking the
15th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday.
His solo ride over the
final 33 kms of the 173-km stage from St Gaudens to a mountain-top
finish gave the 31-year-old climbing specialist victory after two
third placings in the Alpine stages.
He finished two minutes
and one second clear of Switzerland's Alex Zuelle, with Frenchman
Richard Virenque third in the same time. Escartin moved up to second
overall behind American Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong stayed with his
other rivals in the last climb to Piau-Engaly and now looks an
unbeatable overall leader with only five days left before the finish
in Paris.
The American, winner of
the three most important stages in this Tour so far -- the prologue,
the first individual time trial and the first Alpine stage in
Sestriere -- again looked extremely solid, finishing fourth.
"It was not long
today, but it was hard. I struggled in the last two or three
kilometres for I paid for the hard work done all day,"
Armstrong said.
His 6:19 lead over
Escartin in the overall standings looks comfortable enough to hold
until Paris, with Wednesday's last mountain stage to Pau ending on a
long 60 kms descent which should not favor pure climbers.
Zuelle lies third overall,
7:26 behind, with compatriot Laurent Dufaux fourth.
"I'm always
optimistic, but we'll see after tomorrow's stage. It is also a hard
stage tomorrow with long, high climbs," Armstrong added.
The Tour now seems almost
certain to go the American's way but the stage belonged to Escartin,
rewarded at last for his constant efforts in the mountains.
The skinny rider from
Aragon, who was second in the Vuelta last year, was irresistible in
the Peyresourde and Val d'Ouron passes, both first category climbs.
On Peyresourde, a long and
steady pass overlooking the spa of Luchon, Escartin sparked the
fight with Dufaux, chasing a group of eight making early breakaways
who were quickly caught and left scattered along the road.
The Spaniard, whose main
goal this season is to win the Vuelta, then attacked on his own in
the Val Louron climb to take a lead of over two minutes which he
managed to keep until the finish line.
Third in the Alpine stages
of Sestriere and l'Alpe d'Huez, always in the top 10 in the moutain
stages of the past three Tours, Escartin finally triumphed in just
under five hours and 20 minutes.
Behind him, the race for
overall victory was raging.
It quickly became
one-sided as Armstrong, who took shelter behind team mates Kevin
Livingston and Tyler Hamilton in the first passes of the day, also
attacked near the Val Louron summit to drop most of his rivals.
Russian Pavel Tonkov
quickly lost ground, followed by Vuelta winner Abraham Olano, who
lost over two minutes.
At first dropped by the
American, Zuelle, Dufaux and local hero Virenque came back on the
last climb and Virenque, the current king of the mountains, led a
vain chase behind Escartin.
Wednesday's 192-kms 16th
stage from Lannemezan to Pau will take the bunch over classic climbs
such as the Tourmalet, Aubisque and Soulor before the riders return
to the valley.
Tour de France
15th stage placings/overall standings
PIAU-ENGALY, France, July 20 - Leading placings in the 15th stage of
the Tour de France over 173 kms from St Gaudens on Tuesday:
1. Fernando Escartin (Spain) Kelme 5
hours 19 minutes 49 seconds
2. Alex Zuelle (Switzerland) Banesto 2 minutes 1 second behind
3. Richard Virenque (France) Polti same time
4. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal 2:10
5. Kurt van de Wouwer (Belgium) Lotto 2:37
6. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio
Seguros same time
7. Daniele Nardello (Italy) Mapei 2:45
8. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Saeco same time
9. Francisco Garcia (Spain) Vitalicio Seguros 3:39
10. Wladimir Belli (Italy) Festina 4:00
11. Manuel Beltran (Spain) Banesto
5:03
12. Alberto Elli (Italy) Telekom 6:07
13. Roland Meier (Switzerland) Cofidis 6:26
14. Tyler Hamilton (U.S.) U.S. Postal
15. Massimiliano Lelli (Italy) Cofidis both same time
16. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) Banesto
6:40
17. David Etxebarria (Spain) ONCE 7:01
18. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE
19. Andrea Peron (Italy) ONCE both same time
20. Alvaro Galdeano (Spain) Vitalicio Seguros 8:09
Overall standings:
1. Armstrong 72 hours 45 minutes 27 seconds
2. Escartin 6 minutes 19 seconds behind
3. Zuelle 7:26
4. Dufaux 8:36
5. Virenque 9:46
6. Nardello 11:33
7. Casero 11:40
8. Olano 12:35
9. Belli 15:16
10. Van de Wouwer 16:41
11. Peron 18:23
12. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei 19:24
13. Etxebarria 20:10
14. Benoit Salmon (France) Casino 21:01
15. Beltran 21:22
16. Meier 21:43
17. Christophe Moreau (France) Festina 21:59
18. Stephane Heulot (France) La Francaise de Jeux 22:21
19. Hamilton 23:30
20. Paolo Lanfranchi (Italy) Mapei 24:09 |