“I personally think riders like Menchov, Sastre and Lance came to the Giro because, psychologically, they don’t believe they can beat Contador at the Tour,” said Matt White, a race director for the Garmin-Slipstream team and Armstrong’s former teammate on the United States Postal Service team. “They’d rather get a big win here."
SHOOT: White is wrong. Armstrong is using the Giro to sharpen up for the Tour, along with numerous other races. It's part of his training and his preparation for the Tour. Anyone who thinks Lance will ride the Tour de France the way he has ridden the Giro is a nutter, and any rider who makes that assumption is taking a huge gamble.
ANAGNI, Italy — Here and there along the Giro d’Italia route over the last three weeks, fans encouraged Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, to race harder.
On Stage 3 of this 21-stage race, one poster said in Italian, “Lance Armstrong’s collarbone may have broken, but his will to win will never be.”
With one stage to go, Denis Menchov, a Russian on the Rabobank team, is in the pink leader’s jersey with a 20-second lead over Danilo Di Luca of Italy. Armstrong, who started the race as a support rider for his teammate Levi Leipheimer, is 12th, 15 minutes 4 seconds out of first place. Philippe Gilbert of Belgium won the 20th stage on Saturday.
Armstrong, 37, had made it a goal to win this Giro before he crashed and was injured two months ago. Since then, as it turns out, he has transformed into something previously unthinkable. The man once unbeatable is now an underdog.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment