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(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
All in all, Lance Armstrong found Friday’s fourth stage easier than the past two days, but regardless, the 37-year-old said it was “still not an easy day”.
We know the doping control guys aren’t letting up on Lance, having been tested again by the Australian drug testing agency earlier in the day. Asked if Friday gave him any respite at all before Saturday’s crucial fifth stage, Armstrong said, “relative to yesterday and the day before, yeah.
“But I think everybody expected a group to go away, nobody would chase it down and there wouldn’t be any time bonuses on the line, [that] there wouldn’t be any hectic finishes, but Katusha tried to keep it together for Robbie [McEwen]. And again, it was windy; a little bit of crosswind was keeping people on edge.”
So is fatigue creeping in to the Texan’s powerful, once indomitable, body?
“I think everybody’s tired,” he said. “The break, the first race back, the heat, the hills, the wind… the fact that it’s a stage race… and it’s been aggressive.
“I think it’s [the race] been harder than expected,” continued Armstrong, “but I think everybody would say that. I messaged to George and said, ‘I thought this was going to be an easy race!’… so it hasn’t been easy.”
Lance said he felt he could make the decisive selection on the climb of Old Willunga Hill, but as for creating the selection or riding away with a small group, he believed it wouldn’t be possible. He tipped riders like Stuart O’Grady to try and unseat the first two riders on general classification, Quick Step’s Allan Davis and Rabobank’s Graeme Brown, rather than himself.
“For sure, they’ll open up the race tomorrow. I think I can be there, but I know I won’t be riding away – these [top] guys are strong and again, it depends on the wind. Tomorrow on Willunga, if it’s headwind like it was in training, I think it will be hard for anybody to ride away,” Armstrong said.
So for now, all we can do is wait…
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