ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 5, 1996.
The winner of Friday's Tour DuPont stage was incorrect in a graphic
in Saturday's editions. Marcel Wust won the road race from Emporia to
Raleigh, N.C. Lance Armstrong won the Raleigh time trial.
THE DEFENDING CHAMPION makes his move in Stage 2, taking the overall Tour DuPont lead with a win in Richmond.
Defending champion Lance Armstrong surged up the final cobblestone hill Thursday to win the second stage of the Tour DuPont and claim the overall lead.
Armstrong of Austin, Texas, completed the 93.8-mile road race from Fredericksburg to Richmond in 3 hours, 32 minutes, 8 seconds.
Glenn Magnusson (Amore & Vita) of Sweden was second, and Malcolm Elliott (Chevrolet-LA Sheriff) of Britain finished third.
After the ceremonial first stage and Thursday's race, Armstrong holds a five-second overall margin over first-year pro Magnusson and a seven-second margin over Elliott.
Arvis Piziks (Rabobank) of Latvia, who wore the race leader's jersey entering the stage, finished in the main field.
Armstrong jumped to the front with seven others riders, including as many as four Motorola teammates, after two laps of a 3.4-mile downtown circuit. While his teammates alternated leads, Armstrong waited until the steep 200-yard hill about two miles from the finish to make his decisive move.
``I didn't really want to stick it to anyone, we just wanted to win,'' said Armstrong, a fourth-year pro and the world's seventh-ranked cyclist. ``We always like Richmond, and now it gives me a chance to relax a little more tomorrow before the time trial.''
The riders encounter the only double stage of the race today. The field will ride 101 miles from Emporia to Raleigh, N.C., in the first race, followed two hours later by a 7.1-mile individual time trial, also in Raleigh.
Although the pack was chasing en masse in the final yards, Armstrong relaxed in the final 30 yards, zipped up his jersey and thrust one hand, then both, in the air while winning by about 15 yards.
``The guys really helped me and I would have been disappointed if it didn't work out like this,'' said Armstrong, who has two victories and six second-place finishes this season.
Armstrong, competing in the Tour DuPont for the sixth time, won three stages in 1995 and held the leader's jersey for the final eight days en route to a two-minute victory over Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia.
Armstrong has won a Tour-record six stages overall.
Nico Eeckhout (Collstrop) of Belgium assumed a solo lead after 44 miles. The fifth-year pro built a lead of 1:40, but he was caught on the first ascent of the circuit.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. German Nieto, 54, of team MX-Onda (left) and Arvisby CNBPiziks, 25, of team Rabobank hop on the tracks in front of a stopped
train Thursday during Stage 2 of the Tour in Hanover County.