It’s About Time for Armstrong

If there was any thought that this year’s Tour de France would be a monotonous one-man show, it was dispelled Monday on the wind-swept coast of Brittany, where Tour favorite Lance Armstrong found himself in the unusual position of coming in second in a direct test of speed and strength.

And Monday it was a Colombian, Santiago Botero, a rider with Kelme, who frustrated Armstrong in a pre-mountain time trial for the first time since 1999.

Racing only against the clock, relying on his own speed, Armstrong finished the windy, 32.25-mile course from Lanester to Lorient in an impressive 1 hour 2 minutes 29 seconds--impressive, but still 11 seconds behind first-place finisher Botero.

The day’s excitement was over whether Armstrong could beat Botero’s time. At the halfway point, with the two virtually tied, French television announcers began treating Monday’s race as if it would itself decide the entire Tour or at least add a dose of suspense.

When Armstrong clocked in 11 seconds behind Botero, one announcer shouted, “He’s been beaten! He’s been beaten!”

The second-place finish was still enough to move Armstrong up to second place in the overall standings, behind Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, who finished fourth Monday but kept the yellow leader’s jersey. And in two days, the race moves into the grueling mountain stages, to the Pyrenees, where Armstrong in the past has dominated his rivals by opening up huge leads that opponents found insurmountable.

But this year’s race promises to be anything but an easy ride for the three-time Tour winner looking to become the first American to make it four in a row.

Botero is a climber, and he has put Armstrong on notice that he intends to continue his challenge in the mountains. In addition, the Spanish team riders--also including climbers--had been saying even before the Tour that Armstrong did not appear as strong as he did in 2001.

“The Tour has changed,” said Gonzalez de Galdeano. “Armstrong is not so strong in the trials as he was last year, but he remains my No. 1 opponent.”

Botero was savoring his victory--however limited it may be.

“I was highly motivated for that time trial,” Botero said. “I’m going to see how I feel in the first stage of the Pyrenees, and then anything can happen.”

Armstrong goes to the mountain stages still the favorite, but without the psychological boost of an individual time trial victory under his belt. Equally important, his rivals may now have a boost of confidence in believing Armstrong may be human after all.

In 1999, Armstrong beat Alex Zulle in a pre-mountain individual time trial by 58 seconds.

There was no pre-mountain individual trial in 2000, and last year, Armstrong bested his closest opponent, Jan Ullrich, by one minute, before going on to win his third consecutive Tour--leaving the second spot for Ullrich.

Ullrich is out of this year’s race because of knee problems. But in a pre-Tour interview, Armstrong predicted that new challengers would emerge to take Ullrich’s place.

Monday, Armstrong was sanguine in conceding defeat. He praised his rival, and he maintained the serene confidence he has shown since the pre-Tour days.

“I thought that if we were sure to lose the Tour, we would lose it in the first week,” Armstrong said. “To be basically at the same time as them, I consider that to be limited damage.

“At first, I was disappointed I did not win the stage and take the yellow jersey. It was not a good day for me. But it’s not a surprise that Botero won.”

Armstrong’s overall time was lowered because of a crash on Saturday that knocked 27 seconds off his time. Without that tangle with a teammate, he would be the overall leader.

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*--* Armstrong’s Trials Lance Armstrong was upset in Monday’s time trial, but was still able to move from eighth to second in the overall standings: Monday’s ninth stage 32.25-mile individual time trial 1. Santiago Botero, Colombia 1:02.18 2. Armstrong, U.S. 11 seconds behind 3. Serhiy Honchar, Ukraine 18 seconds Overall standings 1. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, Spain 33:21:23 2. Armstrong 26 seconds behind 3. Joseba Beloki, Spain 1:23

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Tour de France

STAGE: An individual time trial along a wind-swept 32.25-mile course from Lanester to Lorient in the western region of Brittany.

WINNER: Colombia’s Santiago Botero in 1 hour 2 minutes 18 seconds.

HOW OTHERS FARED: Spain’s Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey, finishing fourth, 19 seconds later. Lance Armstrong was second, 11 seconds behind Botero, and moved from eighth place to second overall.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The Tour has changed--Armstrong isn’t as strong in the time trial as he was a year ago. The race has become more open.”--Gonzalez de Galdeano after Armstrong’s rare second-place finish.

NEXT STAGE: Today is a rest day. Wednesday’s stage is a 91.1-mile course from Bazas to Pau.