Graham Watson

Armstrong skirts around Ullrich and others on the way to a second place stage finish

Italian Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) won the famous 149-kilometer Carpentras to Le Mont Ventoux 12th stage, sometimes referred as a climb to the moon, in 4 hours, 15 minutes and 11 seconds.

Armstrong (USPS), the reigning race titlist who eased at the finish, was second in the same time, with Joseba Beloki (Festina) third, trailing by 25 seconds. Armstrong was stronger than the stage winner, but his runner-up status served its purpose well.

The stage, held on the 33rd anniversary of the death of British rider Tommy Simpson during the stage, was considered the toughest piece of the race. During the final 21-kilometer "beyond categorie" climb to the desolate mountaintop finish, the ascent averaged a 7.6 percent grade.

A group of six riders emerged with 10 kilometers left. But Pantani joined them five kilometers later. The 1998 Tour winner, Pantani was declared ineligible for last year's Tour after disqualification and suspension for a failed blood test with two stages left in the Tour of Italy.

Pantani, who improved from 24th to 12th place, surged several times in the waning kilometers, with only Armstrong able to keep pace. Armstrong's finish expanded his lead to 4:55 over Ullrich, the leader of the German Telekom team and the 1977 race winner. Beloki moved into third place, trailing by 5:52.

"Pantani was very good today, and he deserved the win," said Armstrong. "But the big thing today was that I took revenge on the mountain. It's not my mountain."

Armstrong, who trains often on the course, called several of the course sections "scary."

Although the stage began in warm and sunny conditions, severe, gusting winds and temperatures in the high 30s greeted the cyclists near the end of the stage.

Armstrong received strong assistance from teammates Kevin Livingston and Tyler Hamilton as the climb to the barren mountaintop began. But when the duo fell off, the days' strongest climbers—Armstrong, Beloki, Ullrich, Richard Virenque (Polti) of France, Roberto Heras (Kelme) of Spain and Santiago Botero (Kelme) Colombia—rotated in the lead group.

The severe stage depleted the field. Francisco Leon (Kelme) of Spain was the last finisher, trailing Pantani by 1 hour, 40 minutes and 55 seconds. Eight riders, including American Chann McRae, abandoned during the stage. McRae crashed twice, suffering a bloodied contusion on his rear end and left the race after approximately 33 kilometers. The peloton now includes 151 riders from a starting field of 177 on July 1 in Futuroscope.