ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 13, 1996 TAG: 9605130121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: KENNESAW, GA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Lance Armstrong rode into the record books of America's biggest cycling race.
He became the Tour DuPont's first repeat winner Sunday, leading the race for the final 11 days.
``The second week of the race was very hard,'' Armstrong said. ``It was more like a job than a passion. But it is my job.''
He captured the 12th and final leg, a windy time trial, his record fifth stage victory in the race that began May 1.
Pascal Herve of France was second, 3 minutes, 15 seconds behind. Tony Rominger of Switzerland, the world's No.2-ranked cyclist, was third, 5:38 behind, in the eighth edition of the race.
Armstrong, the 1993 world road champion, has captured a record 10 stages in his six years in the race.
He bettered the previous mark of four stage victories set by Eric Vanderaerden of Belgium in 1989 when the race was called the Tour de Trump.
Armstrong rode aggressively, although often surrounded by six Motorola teammates.
``Actually, the team was superior to me,'' he said. ``But I'm glad it's over, the last week half of the race was a job, and I wanted to go out like this.''
The 24-year-old rider from Austin, Texas, won the 9.1-mile Marietta-to-Kennesaw time trial Sunday in 17:56.949 at an average speed of 30.41 mph. He earned $35,000 for the overall title.
Herve began the final day trailing Armstrong by 1:58, but he finished 11th in the time trial. Danielle Nardello of Italy finished second in the time trial in 18:25.153 and Rominger was third in 18:26.625.
``It was a tricky time trial; it was hard to pick a rhythm,'' Armstrong said of the stage in which racers faced 20 mph headwinds and crosswinds. ``But I took a line with the time trucks and I thought I could do well.''
A field of 112 riders from 16 teams began the race in Wilmington, Del. The cyclists progressed through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee before the final two stages in Georgia. There were 85 finishers.
Armstrong's stage wins included victories in stage 5 from Mount Airy, N.C., to Roanoke and stage 6 from Salem to Blacksburg.
Mapei-GB won the team title with a cumulative time of 145 hours, 14 minutes, 40 seconds. Festina was second, 3:54 behind. Motorola, which won the team title last year, was third, 8:05 behind.
Armstrong faltered only once. After winning the same stage the previous two years, the two-time Tour de France stage winner hesitated while negotiating the final ascent in the eighth and most difficult stage to Beech Mountain, N.C., on May 8.
Herve won the stage and reduced Armstrong's lead by 55 seconds to 1:58, which held until the final day.
Andy Hampsten of Boulder, Colo., was the next highest American, finishing 12th in the final stage and sixth overall, 7:43 behind.
Hampsten, the 1988 winner of the Tour of Italy and fourth-place finisher of the Tour de France in 1992, competed in the race for the first time since 1990.
Greg LeMond, the three-time Tour de France champion, was the only other American to win this event. He won in 1992, the final stage race title of his career.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Lance Armstrong celebrates his second straight Tourby CNBDuPont title by spraying the crowd with champagne on Sunday in
Kennesaw, Ga. Armstrong also won the Stage 12 time trial. 2. Tony
Rominger, the world's second-ranked cyclist, finished third in the
Tour DuPont, more than 5 minutes behind Lance Armstrong. color.