Stage 13 Is Lucky for Garcia-Acosta
July 14, 2000 -- — Jose Vicente Garcia-Acosta of Spain broke away early from the main pack and held on take the 13th stage of the Tour de France, while American Lance Armstrong remained in yellow jersey as the overall leader.
Garcia-Acosta finished the rolling 185-kilometer (115-mile) stage from Avignon to Draguignan, France, in 4 hours and 3 minutes. Frenchman Nicolas Jalabert took second, 25 seconds behind Garcia-Acosta, while countryman Pascal Herve finished third 2 seconds later.
The overall standings, meanwhile, were largely unchanged, with the leaders resting in the main pack after Thursday’s brutal mountain stage. Armstrong is in first place, German Jan Ullrich is second, at 4:55, and Spain’s Joseba Beloki in third at 5:42.
Italian Marco Pantani, who won Thursday’s stage, ahead of Armstrong, was in 13th place at 10:26.
French Hope for Countryman to Win
Today’s stage fell on Bastille Day, France’s most cherished nationalholiday and, from the start, French riders were vying for a win. The attacks began within the first kilometers, as Garcia-Acosta and others charged off the front of the main pack in the hopes of building a sustainable lead.
For the first few hours, the pack, driven mainly by Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Team, kept the pace high and reeled in each of the attacking riders.
But near the halfway point, a group of 12 riders, including Garcia-Acosta, American Frankie Andreau, Belgian Marc Wauters, and Jalabert successfully escaped, working together to build up a solid gap on the main pack.
Most of the breakaway riders were too far behind Armstrong to threaten his overall lead. But Wauters had begun the day in 17th place overall, 12:15 behind the American. If the breakaway gained much time, Wauters might actually become a problem for Armstrong.
Wauters Came Up Big
Seeking to prevent that, Armstrong’s team stepped up the pace. But thebreakaway group pushed on, building a gap that at one point reached more than 10 minutes.
With 50 km left to race, Garcia-Acosta, Jalabert, and Herve attacked theirbreakaway companions, pulling away and building a gap of their own.Then, less than 16 km from the finish, the three leaders began attacking one another. First Jalabert tried to escape, then Garcia-Acosta. The Spaniard kept his lead all the way to finish.
But the big winner of the stage was Wauters. The Belgian held on to finish 10th, some six minutes ahead of the main pack, and jumped to 4th place overall.
Saturday sees a return to the mountains — and a likely duel among Armstrong, Ullrich, and Pantani. The 249-km (154.9-mile) stage between Draguignan and Briancon, offers three tough climbs, and three opportunities for Armstrong’s rivals to try to get him against the ropes.