Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage V

Publisher's Greeting

What happened to the sun? As the race continued south, skirted Paris and then headed southwest, heavy rain slowed the cyclists. The average speed for the day was 24.39 mph.

George Hincapie, the veteran U.S.P.S. rider with seven Tour finishes, held an impromptu press conference Wednesday night and his interview will be featured in an upcoming issue

Tour News, Notes And Quotes

The Tour welcomed its fifth rider into the Yellow Jersey after Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangerie) of France used his fourth-place finish in a commanding breakaway by five riders to assume the race lead on a rainy and windy day.

As he predicted after leading his team to the fourth stage time trial win, Lance Armstrong (U.S.P.S.) had no intention to get keep the race lead. As such, when the eventually leading group of five emerged after 16 kilometers, the U.S.P.S. corps was content the let them go since none of the quintet will be a threat for the overall title once the race advances to the mountains.

The group stayed ahead of several crashes and eventually built more than a 15-minute margin. The main field narrowed the deficit some, but when Australian Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) emerged as the stage winner, the group of five led by 12:33.

Voeckler, who won French national road championship 10 days ago, was the highest ranked rider entering the stage in 59th position, 3:00 behind Armstrong.

The U.S.P.S. stayed at the front of the main group, protecting Armstrong. As has happened many times during his five Tour victories, Armstrong finished in 24th, one place behind teammate Georgie Hincape. Armstrong fell to sixth place, with Hincapie sixth and Landis seventh . . .

Stage 6 will take the peloton 196 kilometers (121.5 miles) from Bonneval to Angers in another flat stage with no categorized climbs. Bonneval was a starting city in 1999 and Angers has twice previously been a stage finish (1936 and 1972). It also hosted the departure of the race in 1967 and 1972 . . .

The 7th, 8th and 9th stages also will not feature any substantial climbs, so Voeckler could keep his journey until at least stage 10 when the race's first category 1 climb will confront the field . . .

The starting field of 188 was reduced to 181. Bradley McGee (FDJeux.com) of Australia abandoned during the stage and Maryan Hary (Brioches La Boulangerie) of France finished outside the time limit and was eliminated.

Postcard From Le Tour

The drive from Arras to Chartres was the longest commute of the Tour to date. Primarily, it was a high-speed trek along A1, some 200 kilometers to Paris and then a right turn to Chartres, another 75 kilometers down the road. Despite its simple route, I took the wrong turn in Paris and spent nearly an hour off and on the Peripherique, the wild and stressful ring of traffic that provides exits to various neighborhoods of Paris.

I stopped on a street corner and asked two Parisians for directions, and got lost again. I asked a guy at a red light, but his suggestion provided a diversion into another neighbhood. I then nearly drove nearly into the front door of a pub and asked the proprietor for directions.

All of my stops in Paris resulted in different directions, but eventually I saw the first sign to Chartres, the finish city. The green arrow signs posted by the race organization toward the press room were easy to follow and I arrived just prior to and deluge.

Still, I was upset with myself. Each day, journalists arrive in the press rooms late and upset after driving aimlessly for hours. But today I thought for sure I must have been the only one who couldn't fin the way.

When I arrived, however, the press facility was only half full. As it turned out, many others took the same wrong turn and spent ample time "sightseeing" in Paris. Lisewise, many others got stuck on the race course and arrived much later.

Americans In The Tour De France

 
Individual Stage Results
Stage 5, Amiens to Chartres, 200.5 kilometers
Stage Results
23. George Hincapie, Greenville, S.C., (U.S.P.S.) @ 12:33
24. Lance Armstrong, Austin, Texas, (U.S.P.S), same time.
45. Bobby Julich, Reno, Nev. (CSC), s.t.
46. Tyler Hamilton, Marblehead, Mass., (Phonak), s.t.
51. Levi Leipheimer, Santa Rosa, Calif., (Rabobank), s.t.
91. Christian Vande Velde, Lemont, Ill., (Liberty Seguros), s.t.
101. Floyd Landis, San Diego, Calif., (U.S.P.S.), s.t.
General Classification
6. Armstrong @ 9:35
7. Hincapie @ 9:45
8. Landis @ 9:51
13. Hamilton @ 10:11
23. Julich @ 10:35
21. Leipheimer @ 10:43
93. Vande Velde @ 15:03

For complete results, visit the web sites:

CyclingNews.com
LeTour.fr
ProCycling.com
VeloNewws.com
More TDF Links

Previous reports:
Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage IV
Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage III
Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage II
Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage I

© Copyright 2004, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

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