Armstrong Wins Tour Tuneup

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de Suisse cycling road race Thursday, showing he’s in top form for the Tour de France.

The Texan, a two-time Tour de France winner, completed the 877-mile circuit in 35 hours 6 seconds, a solid 1:02 ahead of recent Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. Wladimir Belli of Italy was third, 1:34 back.

“It wasn’t an easy win,” said Armstrong, who knows about tough victories, having overcome cancer to win the Tour de France in 1999 and 2000. “The course is hard, it’s a high-level field, the time trial was particularly tough.”

Armstrong wasn’t that eager to look ahead.

“Everybody wants to talk about the Tour de France in 10 days time, but this Tour de Suisse is still a big race and an honor to win,” he said. “I’ll remember it for a long time.”

Armstrong is expected to overtake Italy’s Davide Rebellin at the top of the world rankings when they are released Monday by the International Cycling Union. Armstrong had not previously been ranked No. 1.

“It was definitely on my mind,” he said. “I’ve been close, third or second, but never No. 1.”