Little Is Decided in Sprint to Finish

It was an all-out, elbow-flinging, heads down madcap dash to the finish line Tuesday in Stage 9 of the Tour de France.

With 60 meters left of the 99-mile race from Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, the trio of Robbie McEwen, a garrulous Australian, Norwegian Thor Hushovd, and Stuart O’Grady, another Australian, burst out of the peloton and stampeded past two startled men -- Spain’s Inigo Landaluze and Italy’s Filippo Simeoni -- who had led for most of the day.

McEwen, Hushovd and O’Grady crossed the finish line with less than half a bike wheel separating them.

It took a photo to tell the story -- McEwen was the joyous winner, finishing the stage in 3 hours 32 minutes 55 seconds and taking hold of the green jersey, just ahead of Hushovd and O’Grady. The finish line was in the unscenic, industrial outskirts of the town, prompting a TV commentator to guess, “this town must have paid a lot of money to win this stage.”

And the pre-race celebration had been all about a loser. Raymond Poulidor, famous for finishing second three times and third five times but never winning in his 14 Tour rides and never for one day wearing the yellow jersey, is from Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat. There were parades and bike rides honoring the man still called “Poupou” with affection by the fans who appreciated Poulidor’s quixotic chases.

So the Tour de France is about more than the overall winner, the man who wears the famous yellow jersey up the Champs Elysees on the final day.

There are other battles being fought during these long days of what might seem to be tedious riding. There are other jerseys up for grabs. A green jersey, for example. Wearing green is the honor given the rider who does best in the sprints. Wearing polka dots is the honor given the rider who climbs mountains the best. During each stage, there are little mini-races, chases from one point to another, up a mini-hill, and the winner gets sprint points or climbing points.

Tuesday, as the Tour resumed after its first rest day, it was status quo among the favorites.

Lance Armstrong, the Texan aiming for an unprecedented sixth consecutive title, pronounced himself satisfied again after an easy jaunt in the shortest of this year’s 20 stages. Armstrong remains in sixth place, 9:35 behind leader Thomas Voeckler of France.

Tyler Hamilton of Marblehead, Mass., remains 36 seconds behind Armstrong and five-time runner-up Jan Ullrich is 55 seconds behind Armstrong. Others who might fight for the podium such as climber Roberto Heras of Spain and Ivan Basso of Italy also stuck to the program, hanging in the peloton and letting the sprinters rule.

Rule they did. There remain only a few more chances for the sprinters to earn large numbers of points. Even today’s 147-mile stage (the longest of this Tour) from Limoges to Saint-Flour, while not a true mountain stage, contains nine rated climbs.

“I needed to take advantage of what was available today,” said the 32-year-old McEwen. “I want to see myself wearing that green jersey in Paris. So this is a beautiful victory.”

McEwen said he was hoping only for survival Tuesday. He began the day with a sore knee and sore back, reminders of the crash last week. “I saved all my energy for that final sprint,” McEwen said.

At one point Landaluze and Simeoni led the field by over 10 minutes. With about 42 miles left, the main pack took up the chase, gradually closing the gap. As the peloton rounded the final corner, Landaluze and Simeoni turned to look over their backs. They must have felt the collective breath of the chasers and their tired legs had nothing left.

Armstrong figures today’s stage will be difficult, “especially if the race starts aggressively like it did today.”

Chris Carmichael, Armstrong’s trainer, said it was unlikely any of the favorites would make a big move today or Thursday, in another hilly stage. Rather, he said that the favorites would take note of how their legs felt after moving from the straight-aways to the hills.

And the Armstrong doubters, of which there are more than a few who think that, at 32, Armstrong has reached the age where the mountains will become too tough, will pay close attention to the potential record-setter.

U.S. Postal Service team leader Johan Bruyneel told BBC Sports on Tuesday that those doubters may be surprised when the Tour makes its first mountaintop finish at La Mongie on Friday.

“I’ve never seen Lance in better shape in a Tour,” Bruyneel said. “Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Roberto Heras, they’re all very good cyclists. As to how they fare, we’ll wait and see in the mountains. But I’m confident Lance will fare better.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Tour de France: Stage 9 at a Glance

* Stage: From Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat to Gueret, 99.73 miles.

* Winner: Robbie McEwen, Australia, Lotto-Domo, 3 hours, 32 minutes, 55 seconds.

* How others fared: Lance Armstrong, United States, US Postal-Berry Floor, finished 44th, same time. Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile Team, finished 25th, same time.

* Yellow jersey: France’s Thomas Voeckler of Brioches La Boulangere retains the leader’s shirt.

* Quote of the day: “I just hope I survive” -- McEwen at the start of the stage, riding despite a sore back and knee.

* Next stage: Stage 10, Limoges to Saint-Flour, 147.27 miles -- the longest stage of the Tour.

OVERALL LEADERS

*--* N. RIDER Country Time 1. THOMAS VOECKLER France 36:36:31 2. STUART O’GRADY Australia 2:53 behind 3. SANDY CASAR France 4:06 behind 4. MAGNUS BACKSTEDT Sweden 6:27 behind 5. JAKOB PIIL Denmark 7:09 behind 6. LANCE ARMSTRONG U.S. 9:35 behind

*--*