Lance struggles again
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ByEurosport
Published 21/04/2005 at 22:56 GMT
Lance Armstrong's patchy early season form continued on Thursday as he could only finish ninth on Stage 3 of the Tour of Georgia. The six-time Tour de France winner struggled in the rain on the 30km time-trial, slipping 1:46 behind stage winner Phonak's F
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"Very disappointing," was the assessment of Armstrong, who announced on Monday that he would quit the sport after attempting to win a seventh maillot jaune in France this year.
"I didn't feel very well, but I thought I would do better.
"Last year, I really set new standards in terms of my own form. This year, I'm off the pace. But as I say, now I know what I'm missing," said the Discovery Channel rider, who won the race last year.
The team's sporting director Johan Bruyneel backed up his star rider, saying time was on the Armstrong's side before the July 1 Tour de France prologue in Strasbourg
"His basic condition is pretty good, but he hasn't done any specific training yet," said Bruyneel. "I'm confident we have enough time to work and get ready."
'WE HAVE TO BE AGGRESSIVE'
American Landis, a former team-mate of Armstrong at US Postal, crossed the line in 39:58 and now heads the race in front of a trio of compatriots, David Zabriskie (CSC, +19 seconds), Christopher Baldwin (Navigators Insurance, +22 seconds) and Bobby Julich (CSC, +28 seconds).
Asked how he felt to have a healthy margin in hand over his former mentor Armstrong (9th, +1:46) in the general classification, Landis replied: "A minute? Well, how would you feel? It was as good as I could have hoped, but it's not over yet. We'll see!"
Friday's 215km stage from Dalton to Dahlonega promises to be a tough, undulating challenge ahead of the weekend's mountainous stages, and Armstrong promised his team would still play a part.
"We have to be aggressive," said the Discovery Channel team leader. "Now the race rests on the shoulders of Phonak and CSC. We're just going to be secondary players and see if we can shake it up a little."
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