Tour Changes Have Armstrong in Mind

They’re apparently trying to “Lance-proof” the Tour de France.

Saying they wanted no repeat of this summer’s runaway victory by American Lance Armstrong, Tour officials on Thursday unveiled the 2002 route that is the shortest in history and designed to keep the outcome in the balance until the final stages.

The route covers 2,034.8 miles in 21 stages. In 1989, the shortest Tour totaled 2,036.7 miles. This year’s race was 2,141.5 miles long.

Four of the six key mountain stages are scheduled for the last eight days next year, meaning there probably won’t be a winner determined much before the cyclists finish in Paris on July 28.

Armstrong took a commanding lead this year with a week to go because of his dominance in the mountains. It was his third consecutive victory in the world’s premier cycling event.

“We were criticized because nothing happened in the final stages,” said Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc. “The suspense will be maintained as far as possible until the finish.”

The 2002 Tour starts July 6 in Luxembourg and takes riders through Germany, the flat plains of northern France, the Pyrenees mountains, the southeastern Provence region and the Alps. There is one more mountain leg than this year.

The race finishes with the traditional ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris, three days after a grueling mountain stage between Aime and Cluses in the Alps.

Armstrong was to attend the Tour news conference Thursday, but withdrew because of concern over terrorism, Leblanc said.

Tennis

Defending champion Thomas Johansson advanced to the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open, outlasting Cedric Pioline, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.

Next for Johansson is Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen, who has not lost a set in five matches, including two in the main draw.

Swedish veteran Magnus Gustafsson, 34, ended his 15-year career, losing to “lucky loser” Jan Vacek, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in his 674th match.

Tim Henman continued his outstanding play in the Swiss Indoors tournament, reaching the quarterfinals with an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory over Andrea Gaudenzi at Basel.

Second-seeded Henman will play Michel Kratochvil, a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (6) winner over fifth-seeded Arnaud Clement.

No. 4 Roger Federer eliminated Xavier Malisse, 6-3, 6-4, and No. 6 Andy Roddick beat Nenad Zimonjic, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Defending champion Marat Safin and second-seeded Russian countryman Yevgeny Kafelnikov struggled to win long second-round matches in the St. Petersburg Open at Russia.

Kafelnikov moved on with a 6-7 (1), 7-6 (8), 7-5 victory over another Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, in 2 hours 44 minutes. Safin outlasted Alberto Martin, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (5), in 2:32. Seventh-seeded Greg Rusedski lost to Max Mirnyi of Belarus, 7-6 (12), 6-4.

Anna Kournikova won for the second time since returning from a foot injury, beating Slovak teenager Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1, 7-6 (4), at the SEAT Open in Luxembourg. Kournikova next faces top-seeded Kim Clijsters, a 6-3, 6-2 winner against Italy’s Rita Grande.

Defending champion Lindsay Davenport outlasted Daja Bedanova, 7-6 (6), 6-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the $565,000 Generali Ladies tournament at Linz, Austria. Iroda Tulyaganova upset second-seeded Justine Henin, 6-7 (1), 6-0, 6-3.

Motor Racing

Jimmy Spencer, a Winston Cup regular seeking his fourth Busch series victory this year, took the pole for Saturday’s Outback Steakhouse 200 at Avondale, Ariz.

The Chevrolet driver broke the Phoenix International Raceway series record with a lap at 131.339 mph. Kevin Harvick was second at 131.214, followed by Matt Kenseth at 131.114, Greg Biffle at 131.105 and Jeff Green at 130.971.

In the Craftsman Truck series, Stacy Compton edged series leader Jack Sprague by five-thousandths of a second to take the pole for today’s Chevy Silverado 150.

Miscellany

The University of Arizona’s basketball roster, already depleted because of early defections to the NBA, got smaller when guard Travis Hanour left the program.

Hanour, a 6-foot-6, 188-pound sophomore from Laguna Beach, said he left for personal reasons, according to Coach Lute Olson, who would not give details, citing student privacy rights.

Only one American will compete at the World Weightlifting Championships at Antakya, Turkey, in November because the United States has withdrawn funding over security concerns.

The lone American lifter will be Jackie Berube of Evanston, Ill., in the women’s 58-kilogram weight class.

Karim Bagheri scored in the 45th minute, giving Iran a 1-0 victory at Tehran over the United Arab Emirates in the first leg of the Asian playoff in World Cup soccer qualifying.

Greg Andrulis, who coached the Columbus Crew to a 12-4-4 record after taking over six games into last season, agreed to a two-year contract with the Major League Soccer team.