Crowd Annoys Leader

As he closes in on a fourth straight Tour de France title, Lance Armstrong is hearing a familiar but unwelcome chant from fans lining the route.

On Sunday, after another strong performance in the mountains extended his overall lead to almost 4 1/2 minutes, Armstrong had heard enough.

“If I had a dollar for every time somebody yelled, ‘Doe-PAY! Doe-PAY!’ [French for ‘Doped! Doped!’], I’d be a rich man,” he said. “It’s disappointing.”

Thanks to a stunning sprint up formidable Mont Ventoux on Sunday, Armstrong stretched his lead over Joseba Beloki in the standings to 4 minutes 21 seconds.

The run wasn’t enough for the Texan to win the stage, though. Armstrong finished third, 2:20 behind winner Richard Virenque of France, who led for the last 125 miles of the 137-mile 14th leg.

Thousands of fans turned out for the stage, but not all were on Armstrong’s side.

“The people are not very sportsmanlike, some of them,” the U.S. Postal Service rider said. “A boo is a lot louder than a cheer. If you have 10 people cheering and one person booing, all you hear is the boo.”

Many fans waved the U.S. flag and banners with Armstrong’s name. But they were outnumbered by those supporting the French, Belgian, Italian and German riders.

Virenque is one of the riders who’s most popular with French fans, even though two years ago he confessed to taking drugs when competing for the Festina team.

That whole squad, including Virenque, was thrown out of the 1998 Tour when a stash of banned drugs was found in a team car.

Since he started dominating the Tour in 1999, Armstrong has heard accusations of drug use. He steadfastly denies using performance enhancers and has never failed a drug test.

He said he couldn’t understand the behavior of fans who jeer him.

“I think it’s an indication of their intelligence,” he said. “I’m not here to be friends with a bunch of people who stand at the side of the road, who’ve had too much to drink, and want to yell.

“It’s an issue of class: Do you have class, or do you not have class?”

Armstrong said the gibes didn’t affect him, though he looked tense.

“I don’t really care. Nor will I care in three or four years when I’m sitting on the beach with my kids, having a cool beer,” Armstrong said.

Virenque’s win was the fifth stage victory of his Tour career but the first since returning from a nine-month ban that prevented him from riding in last year’s competition.

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Tour de France

Highlights from the 14th stage of the Tour de France:

STAGE: 137 miles from Lodeve to the top of Mont Ventoux.

WINNER: Richard Virenque of France, in 5 hours 43 minutes 26 seconds.

HOW OTHERS FARED: Three-time champion Lance Armstrong finished third, 2:20 behind Virenque, and extended his lead in the overall standings. Armstrong leads second-place Joseba Beloki by 4:21.

NEXT STAGE: Today is a rest day. Tuesday’s 15th stage is 140.4 miles from Vaison-la-Romaine to Les Deux-Alpes in the Alps.