BAR-LE-DUC, France -- Two of Lance Armstrong's teammates
tumbled Thursday on a slippery stretch of a highway known as the
"Sacred Route," hurting his chances for a third Tour de France
title.
|  | | Lance Armstrong leads his U.S. Postal Service cycling team during Thursday's time trial. |
Armstrong was at the head of a nine-man pack when Christian
Vande Velde veered suddenly to the right and fell, taking teammate
Roberto Heras down on the rain-soaked road.
The seven remaining riders continued, but their pace dropped
off, destroying the American squad's chances of winning the stage
between Verdun and Bar-le-Duc in eastern France.
"I saw very professional behavior by the team," said U.S.
Postal's sports director, Johan Bruyneel. "They stayed calm. At
the end, we saw the team finish very strong. It could have been a
lot worse."
Still, the fourth-place finish behind the French team Credit
Agricole, left Armstrong 15th in the overall standings after five
of 20 stages of the world's premier cycling event.
But the Texan remains the favorite to win the Tour. He can
easily regain lost time by doing well in the tough mountain stages
that begin on Tuesday.
Friday's sixth stage takes riders on a hilly, 131.34-mile
stretch from Commercy in the Lorraine region to Strasbourg in
neighboring Alsace.
Australian rider Stuart O'Grady kept the leader's yellow jersey
for a third consecutive day after the 41.61-mile stage Thursday.
O'Grady, who rides for Credit Agricole, has a total time of 20
hours, 54 minutes, 21 seconds.
He leads teammate Jens Voigt of Germany by 26 seconds. Another
teammate, American Bobby Julich, is an additional second back.
Armstrong is behind by 1:53.
"Today's been a surprise for everyone," O'Grady said after the
team-time trial.
His team was the last to take the start in Verdun and crossed
the finish line after 1:21:32, 31 seconds faster than the
second-place Once group. Festina was third.
"We've got no real pressure on us to keep the jersey," O'Grady
said. "You just take it one day at a time."
The stage itinerary took riders down the Sacred Route, a section
of highway that was the French army's only supply line during the
Battle of Verdun, one of World War I's bloodiest episodes.
The road is now classed as a national monument, and each
milestone bears a soldier's helmet dating back to the 1916 clash
with German forces.
Vande Velde took a tumble 12 miles from the finish, not long
after a persistent drizzle turned into a downpour.
U.S. Postal was among the fastest teams when the accident
happened, but slowed down for several minutes until Vande Velde and
Heras caught up.
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