Robbie
McEwen of Australia used a burst of speed before the finish line
Tuesday to win the ninth stage of the Tour
de France, while five-time champion Lance Armstrong finished
in the main pack.
Head down, McEwen passed at least 10 riders down the stretch,
racing along the barriers and crossing the line just ahead of Norwegian
champion Thor Hushovd, becoming the first two-stage winner of this
Tour.
"It's a beautiful victory," said McEwen, who rode with
a sore knee and back, injuries he got in a crash last week. "I
gave all of my energy to that sprint."
Armstrong, trying for a record sixth straight title, finished comfortably
in the main pack in 44th place at the end of the undulating,
hilly stage in central France. Jan Ullrich, his main rival, was
25th. Both finished in the same time as McEwen's 3 hours, 32 minutes
and 55 seconds.
Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retained the overall lead. He still leads
sixth-placed Armstrong by 9 minutes, 35 seconds. Ullrich trails
the Texan by 55 seconds.
"We just sat on the wheel, took it easy. We didn't have to
take any responsibility," Armstrong said. The stage "was
fine, didn't really surprise me at all."
Spain's Inigo Landaluze and Italian rider Filippo Simeoni, who
broke away and rode in front for most of the race, were overtaken
by McEwen, Hushovd and the chasing pack of riders in the dash for
the line.
McEwen said his knee was so painful Monday, a rest day, that he
had to stop six time during a training ride. He set out on Tuesday
thinking, "I just hope I survive."
After Tuesday's victory, he rated his condition overall as "still
very good."
"I don't want to sound like I'm a one-legged man," he
said. "After today, I feel like I've been — at least in the
first half of the Tour — the best sprinter."
The 32-year-old McEwen also won a sprint finish in stage two to
Namur in Belgium. He won the green jersey as best sprinter in 2002,
and now has five stage victories in seven Tours. He is the current
holder of the green jersey — and hopes to win it at the finish in
Paris on July 25.
Hushovd, the Norwegian who won a sprint finish in Sunday's stage,
zoomed up the left of the finish straight, while McEwen stayed right,
skimming the barriers. They were neck-to-neck
at the line, with McEwen just ahead.
The two breakaway riders, Landaluze
and Simeoni, surged ahead of the pack 23 1/2 miles from the start
and built up a lead of around 10 minutes.
The pack began to chase with about 42 miles to go, and gradually
closed the gap. As they rounded the last corner to the finish, Landaluze
and Simeoni were within sight of chasers. Their tired legs couldn't
get them over the line ahead of the faster sprinters.
The 99 1/2-mile ride, the shortest of this Tour with the exception
of time trial courses, started in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, the hometown
of retired French great Raymond Poulidor.
On Wednesday, riders embark on the longest, and so far toughest,
ride of the Tour, a 147-mile trek with nine climbs — including a
3 1/2-mile ascent up a gradient of eight percent.
"It will be hard, especially if the race starts aggressively
like it did today," Armstrong said. "A lot of people will
be going home if it starts like that."
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