He Is Second, in Command

Lance Armstrong could get sick. A cold or a stomach virus and climbing the Alps becomes agony.

Or he could hit a pothole, get caught in a crash, fly head over handlebars and land on the cement.

Armstrong was spit on Friday and booed Saturday by some orange-clad Basque fans who seemed angry that their homebred hero, Iban Mayo, tried to quit the race halfway up the mountain in Stage 13 Saturday.

Although Thomas Voeckler’s face flushed bright red and his eyes looked unfocused, the 25-year-old Frenchman pushed ahead, using the cheers of the crowd estimated at 150,000 as an extra gear.

Voeckler, who has worn the yellow jersey of the Tour’s leader for seven days, will wear it another day. But his lead over Armstrong that was over nine minutes two days ago is now 22 seconds.

But it is a lead and Voeckler will not let go without a valiant ride.

Still, the 2004 Tour de France belongs to Armstrong, barring any calamities.

The 32-year-old cancer survivor from Texas who is aiming to become the first man ever to win six consecutive titles, won his first individual stage of this race with a smooth, smart effort and with gallant assistance from his U.S. Postal Service teammates.

Armstrong outsprinted Italy’s Ivan Basso, who for the second day rode pedal-to-pedal with the five-time champion, to cross the finish line first at this Pyrenees ski resort, a stage Armstrong won two years ago as well.

Armstrong is 1:17 ahead of Basso.

He put further time between himself and Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner and five-time runner-up. Tyler Hamilton, a former Armstrong teammate and last year’s fourth-place rider, abandoned the race about 35 miles into the 127-mile stage. Hamilton blamed a sore back he suffered in a crash July 9 and a heart aching over the death of his beloved dog Tugboat last week.

Mayo, who had been considered a podium possibility this year and a favorite to win one of the two Pyrenees stages that are home territory for himself and his Euskaltel team, barely made it to the finish. He finished Saturday’s stage in 115th place, crossing the finish line nearly 38 minutes behind Armstrong.

At one point Mayo climbed off his bike to quit and needed to be pushed back on by two teammates.

Only Basso, who has forged a friendship with Armstrong partly as a result of his mother’s pancreatic cancer, and Andreas Kloden, who is on Ullrich’s T-Mobile team, seem legitimate threats to Armstrong. And Basso, who has thrived this year riding for Team CSC and coach Bjarn Riis, who won the Tour in 1996, is admittedly not a good time-trial rider. There are two time trials left in the final week, including one up the 21-switchback climb to L’Alpe d’Huez on Wednesday.

Armstrong is not one to proclaim victory. He said again Saturday as he says every year, “It’s not over until you reach the Champs-Elysees.” That would be a week from today after more punishing mountain stages in the Alps.

But Ullrich, on his team website, certainly seemed ready to crown Armstrong.

“I can assure you, I will fight every day until I drop,” wrote Ullrich, who finished last year’s race 61 seconds behind Armstrong but who is 6:39 behind now. “After seven climbs and more than 200 kilometers and under conditions that should really be ideal for me, I must admit this. Lance appears to be unbeatable this year.”

The only things that caused Armstrong to slow down Saturday were a flat tire and the constricting crowd. The tire was easily repaired and Armstrong was quick to rejoin the peloton.

About four miles from the finish line the boisterous crowd composed largely of Spanish Basques who were less than 20 miles from home, pressed in on Armstrong and Basso. They were waving flags in the faces of the riders, reaching out to offer bottles of water, trying to shake hands or just attempting to touch the racers. One even put his hands on Armstrong’s back, pushing him for a few feet.

With no crowd control or barriers, no guards or policeman in the vicinity, Armstrong called the scene “frantic,” and said, “It was unbelievable we made it through without being killed.” In the last few kilometers, when barriers were up and the road was free again, Armstrong and Basso had a brief chat. “We both remarked we were lucky to make it,” Armstrong said.

Voeckler used that crowd energy to keep him grimly focused on the clock in his head. “I knew with his time bonus for winning the stage,” Voeckler said, “I needed to arrive with the clock telling me I was less than five minutes behind the winner.”

Mission accomplished. Voeckler, a new French hero, made a tired effort to thrust his hands in the air. “I’ll continue to fight to hold the jersey, no matter how small my lead is,” Voeckler said.

Armstrong praised the rising star in a news conference and, in French, on local television. “Voeckler fights all the way to the end,” Armstrong said. “He absolutely deserves to have the jersey another day or as long as he wears it. I’m very impressed by him.”

Once again Armstrong’s teammates, especially George Hincapie and Jose Azevedo, kept up a constant pace that forced most of the other challengers to fall away.

Only Basso, whom Armstrong had tried to hire for the U.S. team this year, kept pace, for the second day in a row.

The finish was emotional for Armstrong. “It was an all-out sprint,” he said. “Ivan started in front and he had already set a fast tempo. That was all the sprint I had in my legs. So I’m glad it worked.”

Armstrong was greeted with a hug by his girlfriend, rock singer Sheryl Crow, who has returned to the Tour from her own singing tour. Later, Armstrong turned introspective.

“My best years were 2000 and 2001,” he said. “The time of being the boss of the Tour de France is over. Before the Tour this year I was insecure. But I think that’s what all great champions are. They’re worried about their place, worried about losing their place on top and that’s what keeps them there.”

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Out in Front

The number of individual stage races won by Lance Armstrong during his five consecutive Tour de France championships:

*--* 1999...* 4 2002...* 4 2000...1 2003...1 2001...4 * includes prologue

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Stage 13 at a Glance

* Stage: A grueling, 127.7-mile trek through the Pyrenees from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille.

* Winner: Lance Armstrong, U.S., 6 hours, 4 minutes, 38 seconds.

* How others fared: Ivan Basso, Italy, Team CSC, same time as Armstrong; Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile Team, 2 minutes, 42 seconds behind.

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

* Quote of the day: “As I always say, the Tour finishes in Paris. There are still the Alps and many dangerous stages” -- Armstrong, after winning the stage and gaining a nearly unbeatable lead over his main rivals.

OVERALL LEADERS

*--* N. RIDER Country Time 1. THOMAS VOECKLER France 58:00:27 2. LANCE ARMSTRONG U.S. :22 behind 3. IVAN BASSO Italy 1:39 behind 4. ANDREAS KLODEN Germany 3:18 behind 5. FRANCISCO MANCEBO Spain 3:28 behind

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