Time Trial Is Crucial, Armstrong Says

Lance Armstrong’s quest for his fifth consecutive Tour de France to tie the record of Spain’s Miguel Indurain could be won or lost today in a treacherous, hilly, 29.1-mile time test that he calls “the most important time trial in my whole career.”

“It’s a very important day for everyone,” said Armstrong, who maintained his lead Thursday. “The results are still pretty tight. I’m hoping to do well. I know the course. It’s not too hard but not too easy.”

The 31-year-old from Austin, Texas, and a field dwindling in the heat will navigate the road from Gaillac, near Toulouse, to a sports- and theme-park area called Cap Decouverte.

Jan Ullrich, who won the 1997 Tour, and American Tyler Hamilton, who has been riding with a broken collarbone since he took a hard fall in a major crash at the end of the first stage, are expected to offer the strongest challenges to Armstrong in the time trial, which has the riders start one at a time in a race against the clock. Armstrong is considered the best time-trial racer in the Tour and he has taken careful stock of this one.

“I like the course because there’s a little hill near the end,” he said. “But we’ll have to see [today] because the wind direction might change.”

The heat is predicted to be stifling again. Temperatures have risen to more than 90 degrees at some point during nearly every stage.

Tour doctor Gerard Porte said in the national sports daily newspaper L’Equipe that he expects no more than 125 riders in the race at the end July 27 instead of the normal 150 or so. “If the heat continues,” Porte said, “I’m afraid there will be lots of abandons in the Pyrenees.”

On Thursday, it was as if the Tour took a deep, hot breath and blew 167 riders from Narbonne to an airport runway in Toulouse.

There was little sprinting, not much jockeying for position, just a line of riders, heads down, trying to stay rested and healthy, away from crashes and in position for the five most crucial days of the 2003 Tour.

No important places changed in the overall standings.

Armstrong leads by 21 seconds over Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan; by 1:02 over Spain’s Iban Mayo, who is in third; by 1:37 over Spain’s Francisco Macebo, who is fourth; by 1:52 over Hamilton of Marblehead, Mass., who is fifth; and by 2:10 over Ullrich, who is sixth.

Spain’s Juan Antonio Flecha, whose last name means “arrow” and who took the pose of an archer as he crossed the finish line of the 95.2-mile ride, was the winner of the 11th stage, a rolling drive through medieval towns such as Carcassone and fields of sunflowers that seemed to turn their yellow heads and wave at the riders.

After today’s time trial, the Tour heads up. And up.

Although the Alps climbs get more attention, the Pyrenees climbs can be even more grueling because the heat is fiercer.

Crowds will be massive as the cyclists head into Basque country, home of perhaps the most enthusiastic fans in the world.

An auto trip through the Pyrenees stages can quickly turn into a crawl with cars stuck behind bicycle riders who are carrying their daily groceries or are just out for some exercise.

“It is our history, to ride,” said Mikel Extebarria, who says he is proud of his Basque heritage and who will be on the side of the road Sunday. He is from Pamplona, home of Indurain.

Extebarria learned English in school, he said, because he hoped to one day become a world-class cyclist like Indurain. That didn’t happen, but he said the Tour competitors, especially those of the Basque teams ONCE-Eroski and Euskaltel-Euskadi, can expect strong support.

“We, more than most fans, know what it takes to ride these hills,” Extebarria said. “Because we do it every day.”

Saturday’s stage of 122.7 miles will range from the space research center outside of Toulouse to Ax-3 Domaines, a thermal springs resort near Andorra. The largest climb will be 6,565 feet at Port de Pailheres.

On Sunday, the terrain gets steeper as the Tour wanders briefly into Spain, then back to France.

The stage begins in Saint-Girons and ends 119 miles away in Loudenvielle-Le Louron, a village of 280 people and a place well-known for its mountain biking tourism. There are climbs of 4,578 feet (Col de la Core); 4,426 feet (Col de Mente); 4,331 feet with 984 feet at a 15% grade (Col du Portillon); and finally, just 6.8 miles from the finish, 5,128 feet (Col de Peyresourde).

Monday’s twisty route begins in Agneres-de-Bigorre and ends, after 99 miles, in Luz-Ardiden, about 18 miles from Lourdes. It includes a climb of 6,936 feet up the notoriously difficult Col du Tourmalet and ends with a climb of 5,627 feet to the finish line.

After a rest day Tuesday, the final day of climbing is in the 123-mile route from Pau to Bayonne where there are six rated climbs.

By the time the Tour heads to Bordeaux next Thursday, a winner may well have been decided.

A “Lance is vulnerable” theme has been hurtling through the Tour since Armstrong came out of the Alps wearing the leader’s yellow jersey without having won any of those mountain stages with a big, punishing, Tour-demoralizing day as he has done in the past.

But in the past, there has always been, for Armstrong, an individual time trial where he has imposed his will and opened up a sturdy lead.

Finally, in 2003, he has the chance to impose his will.

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*--* At a Glance Highlights of 11th stage of the Tour de France: * Stage: Narbonne to Toulouse, a 95.2-mile route ending in the city known as “La Ville Rose” (the Pink City) * Winner: Spain’s Juan Antonio Flecha, in 3 hours, 29 minutes, 33 seconds * How others fared: Four-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong placed 29th; Germany’s Jan Ullrich, a Tour winner in 1997, finished 22nd; Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov placed 30th; Spain’s Iban Mayo crossed in 33rd place * Yellow jersey: Armstrong retains the overall lead with a time of 49:16:37 -- 21 seconds ahead of Vinokourov * Next stage: Today’s crucial 12th stage is an individual time trial, where riders race against the clock on a hilly 29.1-mile dash from Gaillac to Cap’ Decouverte * 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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