There’s No Gaining Ground on Armstrong

Lance Armstrong stayed in command of the Tour de France Friday as the race moved to hilly ground for a day to give the riders a respite between two grueling mountain stages.

Armstrong finished 27th in the 13th stage, more than 10 minutes behind winner Jose Vicente Garcia-Acosta of Spain. He crossed the line in the same group as Jan Ullrich, the only rider who stlil has a realistic chance of ending Armstrong’s quest for his second consecutive title.

The 28-year-old Texan, who won last year after battling back from cancer, retains a 4:55 lead over the Deutsche Telekom rider with eight stages left. Spain’s Joseba Beloki is third, 5:52 behind the defending champion, with Marc Wauters of Belgium 11 seconds further back.

Armstrong had taken a potentially decisive lead after Thursday’s 12th stage, when he finished second to Marco Pantani.

But Ullrich hasn’t given up.

“It is satisfying to see that I am not losing too much time. Five minutes behind still leaves me with a chance to catch him,” the 1997 Tour champion said. “I just hope that we will still have the force to attack Armstrong in the Alps. Our team is tired but so is U.S. Postal.”

Ullrich’s bosses are more realistic.

“If it goes on like this, I can’t see it being possible to worry Armstrong. There really aren’t any more solutions,” said Walter Godefroot, Telekom’s sporting director.

In the meantime, there are plenty of chances for other riders to get some glory with stage wins. Friday’s leg was the third victory for Spain after Once’s team trial victory and Javier Otxoa’s success at Lourdes-Hautacam.

Banesto’s Garcia-Acosta broke away from the leading riders with seven miles to go and held off the challenges of Frenchmen Nicolas Jalabert and Pascal Herve to win in 4 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds.

Jalabert was second in the 115-mile route from Avignon to Draguignan, 25 seconds back, with Herve third, two more seconds behind.

Next is a trek to the Alps, with today’s challenging 155-mile climb from Draguignan to Briancon.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Tour de France at a Glance

Friday’s 13th stage of the 87th Tour de France:

* STAGE: A hilly 115-mile route from Avignon to Draguignan.

* WINNER: Jose Vicente Garcia-Acosta of Spain in 4 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds.

* HOW OTHERS FARED: Defending champion Lance Armstrong finished 27th, 10:06 behind the winner. Jan Ullrich was 22nd with the same time.

* QUOTE OF THE DAY: “To win a stage of an international race is a lot, but to win a stage in the Tour is a dream.” -- Garcia-Acosta.

* NEXT STAGE: Today’s 155-mile climb from Draguignan to Briancon.