Will Lance take the Tour de France?

[Phil C]

Today and probably tomorrow are the two critical days for Lance to take complete control of the Tour de France. They are in the mountains where he usually does great and gets his big lead. We will see. Go Lance Go!

[Phil C]

Italy's Ivan Basso is only 79 seconds behind Lance today and is considered the one with the best chance to beat Lance now. He is determined to win the race if he can. We will see what happens. Today and tomorrow are critical! GO LANCE GO!

[Phil C]

Lance is in first place but it isn't over yet. Jan Ullich who won in 97 has come on strong today and Basso is still in the hunt. We will see what happens in the next minutes. They are nearing the finish line. GO LANCE GO!

[RBARKER]

1545: Armstrong pounces with 200m to go and out-sprints Basso, with Ullrich finishing third and Kloden fourth. Armstrong will now take the yellow jersey and looks on course for a record sixth Tour victory.

[LeopardPride]

How many seconds does this put him in the lead--ahead of #2

[RBARKER]

here is the top ten and there times

Pos Rider Nat Team Time Deficit
1. Lance Armstrong USA US Postal 4:40:30 4:40:30
2. Ivan Basso ITA Team CSC 4:40:30 +00:00
3. Jan Ullrich GER T-Mobile 4:40:33 +00:03
4. Andreas Klöden GER T-Mobile 4:40:36 +00:06
5. Levi Leipheimer USA Rabobank 4:40:43 +00:13
6. Richard Virenque FRA Quick-Step 4:41:18 +00:48
7. Michael Rasmussen DEN Rabobank 4:41:19 +00:49
8. José Azevedo POR US Postal 4:41:23 +00:53
9. Jens Voigt GER Team CSC 4:41:34 +01:04
10. Carlos Sastre ESP Team CSC 4:41:54 +01:24

[Phil C]

Armstrong is 1min25 seconds ahead of second place Ivan Basso. Jan Ullrich who is also considered to be a threat is 6 min 54 seconds behind Lance and probably won't catch him unless something happens to Lance. I think Lance is considered a better sprinter than Basso but I am not sure. Basso appears to be his main competitor now. The fenzy crowd may be a big threat but I hope not. Tomorrow will be very critical for Lance to keep up the pace and get a safe lead or at least maintain the lead. He now has the yellow jersey and is in first place. GO LANCE GO!!

[PhiI C]

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is another critical day. If Lance can win this state he will be in good shape even though it won't be completely cinched though. There will still be four more days after this stage.