THE RACE LIVE

The film of the stage

One Race: Two Heroes - Totschnig & Armstrong

There were two races in the 14th stage of the 2005 Tour de France; the quest for the stage win which was executed to perfection by Georg Totschnig and the battle for the yellow jersey which, as we’ve come to expect, was controlled by the same American who has dominated the Tour for the past six years.
Lance Armstrong was beaten to the finish line by the Austrian but no one else was capable of eclipsing the defending champion as he proved yet again that he is the strongest man in the race.
Totschnig had won just 10 races during his 11 years as a professional before today but the Gerolsteiner rider is now slouch. He was seventh overall in the Tour de France last year and fifth in the Giro d’Italia in 2003. It was in today’s stage, however, that he became a hero. Since 1931 no rider from Austria has won a stage of the Tour but Georg changed that by finishing 56 seconds ahead of the man in the yellow jersey.
To achieve this coup Totschnig had to take a gamble. On a day that featured four small climbs in the first 175 kilometers and two monster mountains at the end, he set off as part of a 15 riders after just seven kilometers. This was soon reduced to a pack of 10. Amongst the selection were three designated team leaders including Totschnig, the 2000 Giro champion Stefano Garzelli and the recently-crowned Spanish champion Juan Manuel Garate. In an eclectic mix of opportunists these three had bold ambitions on a day that concluded with the 15 kilometer long ascent to the ‘Hors Category’ summit of Port de Pailheres and the category-one rise to Ax-3-Domaines.
Early on the first major mountain that Totschnig eliminated eight of his fellow escapees who helped him put almost 10 minutes into the peloton where Armstrong remained sheltered from the wind by his Discovery Channel team-mates. Garzelli tried to be gallant on his 32nd birthday but he too failed to match the pace of Gerolsteiner’s Georg. At the summit the eventual stage winner was in control. He had a lead of almost four minutes on an elite selection that included the yellow jersey.
On the final ascent Totschnig must have ignored the time checks. If he knew the rapid progression of his chasers it would have been difficult to maintain the momentum that carried him to the top ahead of those vying for the yellow jersey. Once he had thrown his victory salute the reality of what had been achieved sunk in and Georg collapsed on the ground unable to hide his emotions. Tears of joy flowed as he realized that he’d not only won a stage of the Tour but he did so in front of an inspired Armstrong.
The day’s runner-up will have mixed emotions tonight. There’s no doubt that Armstrong has an answer for every assault thrown at him but he must be wondering what happened to the team of champions his team employed for one purpose; to help him win a record seventh title in his final race as professional.
When the peloton arrived at the base of the Pailheres climb, the nature of the race changed dramatically. It was attrition for those with ambitions of a high place in the 92nd Tour’s general classification. And T-Mobile should have been the dominant force. Instead, the German squad proved yet again that they don’t understand the tactics required to win a race of this nature.
It began well for Alexandre Vinokourov, Andreas Kloden and the 1997 champion Jan Ullrich. This trio was tucked in behind a line of team-mates when the road turned towards the heavens and aimed at the 2,001 meter high Pailheres summit. ‘Vino’ then took his cue and went on the attack. This move is what eliminated all of Armstrong’s colleagues. In several hundred meters Yaroslav Popovych, Jose Luis Rubiera, Jose Azevedo and Paolo Savoldelli vanished. But Armstrong held his ground. He cast his eyes down and ignored the antics that went on around him.
Not even an attack from ‘Ulle’ prompted a reaction from the man who has already worn the yellow jersey for nine days this year. T-Mobile must have thought their one-two punch had dealt a knock-out blow, but Lance simply waited for another rider to respond to the taunting. Francisco Mancebo stepped forward and began pursuing Ullrich. This was time for Lance to high overdrive. The hesitation lasted less than a minute before he shattered T-Mobile’s illusions.
Once Lance decided it was time to race, Ullrich didn’t stand a chance.
There’s no doubt that the German is strong. He was one of just four riders who could stay with Lance on the way up the Pailheres climb. Also in the mix were Ivan Basso and two more Americans, Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer. This quintet eliminated Kloden, Vinokourov, Mancebo, Mickael Rasmussen and Cadel Evans from the program today. Although these stars would return for the final climb they would vanish again after a bizarre scene which illustrated T-Mobile’s stupidity.
Vinokourov proved his fighting spirit by wrestling his way into the lead group before the final mountain. He then bolted ahead to repeat his role from the previous climb – namely to hit the turbo and force his team’s rivals to do the work to reel him in. Perhaps the consistent and aggressive Basso would take the bait. Maybe even Evans could have a go and chase his former team-mates down. Why not Mancebo once again? It was a tactic dreamed up to taunt Armstrong but the American didn’t need to do anything. Why? Because Ullrich and Kloden teamed up and set off in pursuit of their colleague. Huh?!
For the rest of the final mountain Armstrong, Ullrich and Basso rode a tempo that was high enough to drop the other favorites and almost sufficient to capture Totschnig. The two races became one in the closing kilometers. Georg was still committed to claiming the stage but he had to hold off a bold trio who got a whiff of the win.
Bravo Totschnig, you achieved a coup. And touché Armstrong, you are indeed a unique champion. But Ullrich… why must you insist on losing this race you know you can win?

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