Tour Riders Run Straight Into the French Resistance

Crashes, fatigue and sweltering heat are the usual perils. Lance Armstrong was presented with a new hazard Tuesday at the Tour de France -- street protests.

The disruption cost him and other riders precious time, but his overall lead was safe on a day when organizers said temperatures soared to 115 along the 136-mile route.

“It’s definitely the hottest Tour that most of us can remember,” said Armstrong, who is trying to match Miguel Indurain’s record of five consecutive Tour wins. “We’ve always had hot days but never so many in a row.”

Armstrong was stuck in a pack of riders briefly blocked by demonstrators, and he completed the 10th stage in a group that finished more than 20 minutes behind winner Jakob Piil of Denmark.

Armstrong, riding one day after he skidded off course to avoid a fallen rival, was in 45th place in the ride to this port city.

Alexandre Vinokourov, a Kazak rider for Team Telekom, remained second overall, 21 seconds behind the Texan. Spain’s Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi is third overall, 1:02 seconds back. Tyler Hamilton, a U.S. rider and former Armstrong teammate, is fifth overall.

Recording the same time as Armstrong on Tuesday were Vinokourov (53rd place), Mayo (42nd), 1997 winner Jan Ullrich (34th) and Hamilton (36th).

The protest forced riders to stop after supporters of radical farmer Jose Bove ran into the road and blocked cyclists near Pourrieres, about 91 miles into the race.

Tour officials ruled the protest was a “normal race incident,” meaning riders would have to suffer the consequences of the demonstration. Armstrong’s main rivals got caught in the pack as well, so his overall lead was not affected. In all, the pack lost about 90 seconds.

A day earlier on Bastille Day, away from the Tour, police arrested six protesters, including three carrying banners in support of Bove. He was jailed last month for destroying genetically modified crops and served about six weeks in jail. After three punishing days in the Alps, Armstrong and his main challengers were content to let others move to the front.

Piil, a Team CSC rider, won a Tour stage for the first time. He was in a group of nine riders who broke away 9.9 miles into the race. Because he and the others are not serious threats, Armstrong and the other heavyweights did not bother chasing them.

Piil’s group was in front of the main pack for more than 124 miles during the stage, the longest breakaway in this year’s Tour. Piil beat Italian rider Fabio Sacchi of the Saeco team in a final sprint at the finish.

Bram de Groot of the Netherlands, with the Rabobank team, was third.

Tuesday’s hilly course took the riders away from the leg-crushing Alps, where Armstrong claimed the yellow jersey for the first time in this three-week race. Riders have a rest day today before Thursday’s 95.2-mile stage from Narbonne to Toulouse.

Armstrong’s next big objective comes Friday at “maybe the most important time trial I’ve ever done in the Tour.”

“I know the course pretty well,” he added. “I’ve been focusing a lot on the time trial this year in terms of training.”

But Armstrong has more immediate plans. He intends to see his wife and three children on his off day, and probably take a “big nap.”

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At a Glance

Highlights from Stage 10:

*--* * Stage: Gap to Marseille, a 136-mile route toward the southern French coast * Winner: Denmark’s Jakob Piil, in 5 hours 9 minutes 33 seconds * How others fared: Four-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong placed 45th; Jan Ullrich, a Tour winner in 1997, finished 34th; Spain’s Iban Mayo crossed in 42nd place; Kazahkstan rider Alexandre Vinokourov placed 53rd * Yellow jersey: Armstrong retains the overall lead in a time of 45 hours, 46 minutes 22 seconds * Next stage: Today is a rest day. Thursday’s 11th stage is a 95-mile route from Narbonne to Toulouse * On the Web: For live updates of each day’s Tour de France stage, complete standings, cyclist profiles and course information, go to: latimes.com/tour

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