Vinokourov Climbs Stage of Vindication

It wasn’t a ride for the yellow jersey and he probably still doesn’t have a chance to beat Lance Armstrong, but Alexandre Vinokourov floated up mountains so high they are above ranking -- hors categorie -- and then sprinted a final descent determined to win Stage 11 of the Tour de France and to validate the belief he has in himself.

A day after being pummeled by Armstrong’s march to Courchevel, Vinokourov on Wednesday regained 1 minute 15 seconds of the more than six minutes he had lost to Armstrong, winning the 107.5-mile stage in 4 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds.

Armstrong finished 1:15 behind Vinokourov, keeping the yellow jersey and his 38-second advantage over second-place Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark. Christophe Moreau of France is third, 2:34 behind Armstrong, and Ivan Basso of Italy is fourth, 2:40 back.

There was more than 12,000 feet of climbing Wednesday. The first huge move came up the Col de la Madeleine, a 17-mile climb at a 6.1% grade. Vinokourov pumped his massive legs as if he were out for fun and left most of the field behind him.

And when Vinokourov soared to the summit at Col du Galibier -- at 8,677 feet the highest point of the Tour -- he was riding alone, with only the whipping wind as his companion.

“Of course I was very disappointed yesterday,” Vinokourov said. “With how I did yesterday I felt I had to attack today.”

On the dizzying descent from Col de Galibier into Briancon, Vinokourov was in a two-man race with Santiago Botero of Colombia, a former Armstrong teammate who rides for Phonak. In the last 250 meters, Vinokourov stood on his bike, looked over his shoulder and beat Botero to the finish.

As a testimony to how much Armstrong owns a Tour that he has won six consecutive times, Vinokourov was asked if he thought Discovery Channel, Armstrong’s team, had given him a gift of Wednesday’s stage.

“You’ll have to ask Lance,” Vinokourov said.

Armstrong wasn’t answering either, though it has been rumored that Vinokourov, a 31-year-old from Kazakhstan who is in the final year of his T-Mobile contract, could move over to Discovery Channel next year and help to fill the void Armstrong will leave after his retirement at the end of the Tour on July 24.

Vinokourov attributed his troubles Tuesday to the rest day that preceded it.

“I lost the rhythm in my legs,” he said. “I only went for a 2 1/2 -hour ride on Monday.”

It was for pride that Vinokourov said he attacked early and often Wednesday.

“You can’t wait until the last climb when you’re riding against Discovery Channel,” he said. “If you wait until the end, they have too much good rhythm and then you can’t be first.”

Armstrong finished in sixth place for the stage and said he was “satisfied” with the ride.

“We are in a good position,” said Johan Bruyneel, the Discovery Channel team director. “It’s up to us now to defend things.”

Armstrong said Vinokourov’s stage win just happened.

“We have a list of priorities every day,” Armstrong said. “Somebody who is 6 1/2 minutes behind is no longer a priority. We can’t chase anything. Our goal today was to ride conservatively and keep the team together. We did that.

“If Vino’s goal was to win a stage, he was successful. If it was to blow up Discovery, it didn’t work.”

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STAGE 11 AT A GLANCE

* Stage: A 107.5-mile Alpine trek from Courchevel to Briancon, featuring famed climbs such as Col de la Madeleine and Col du Galibier.

* Winner: Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan, T-Mobile, in 4 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds.

* How others fared: Santiago Botero, Colombia, Phonak, was second, 1 second behind; Lance Armstrong, United States, Discovery Channel, was sixth, 1:15 behind; Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile, was 15th in the same time as Armstrong.

* Yellow jersey: Six-time champion Armstrong keeps the yellow jersey -- he leads Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark by 38 seconds.

* Quote of the day: “An all-day effort is never easy and clearly he was motivated. It was impressive.” -- Armstrong praising Vinokourov.

* On the web: For more information on the Tour de France, including Diane Pucin’s blog, photo galleries and up-to-the-minute standings, please visit latimes.com/tour.

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OVERALL LEADERS

1. Lance Armstrong, U.S. 41:59:57

2. Mickael Rasmussen, Denmark :38 behind

3. Christophe Moreau, France 2:34 behind

4. Ivan Basso, Italy 2:40 behind

5. Alejandro Valverde, Spain 3:16 behind

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STAGE 11 RESULTS

1. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan 4:47:38

2. Santiago Botero, Colombia :01 behind

3. Christophe Moreau, France 1:15 behind

4. Bobby Julich, U.S. 1:15 behind

5. Eddy Mazzoleni, Italy 1:15 behind