By
Francois Thomazeau
Ludo Dierckxsens
of Belgium raises his arms as he crosses the finish line to win the 11th
stage of the Tour de France cycling race from Bourg-d'Oisans, in
the French Alps to Saint-Etienne in central France July 15. Lance
Armstrong of the USA retained his yellow jersey as leader in the overall
standings. cp/Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier REUTERS
|
ST ETIENNE, France, July 15
- Belgian champion Ludo Dierckxsens earned his first Tour de France
victory at the age of 34 on Thursday as he captured the 11th stage
from Bourg d'Oisans in a bold solo breakaway.
The veteran rider from
Antwerp parted company with five breakaway companions 25 kms from the
finish of the 198.5-kms ride and raced alone to gain the most
prestigious victory of his career in just over four-and-a-half hours.
American Lance Armstrong
retained the race leader's yellow jersey despite finishing in the main
peloton more than 22 minutes later.
Dierckxsens, who turned
professional only at the age of 30, had won just two major races in
the past -- Paris-Bourges last year and the Belgian championship one
week before the Tour.
The bald Belgian, who worked
as a mechanic before turning pro, made his move shortly before the
summit of the demanding Croix de Chaubouret climb.
After his attack, France's
Laurent Lefevre, who had broken away first after 80 kms, lost ground
while Russian Dimitri Konyshev, Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov, Italian
Wladimir Belli and Belgian Rik Verbrugghe were left chasing behind.
The four were never able to
bridge the gap and Konyshev, who was the first Russian to win a Tour
stage nine years ago, had to be content with outsprinting Vinokourov
for second place, one minute and 26 seconds behind Dierckxsens.
It was the first successful
long solo breakaway of this year's Tour though Armstrong and Italian
Giuseppe Guerini have each won an Alpine stage on their own after
attacking in the last few kilometres.
Armstrong's U.S. Postal team
mates let the six breakaway riders have their day as none of them
posed any threat in the overall standings.
Vinokourov, the best-placed
of the lot, was 43 minutes behind Armstrong at the start.
"It's a dream come
true," said Dierckxsens. "I became Belgian champion two
weeks ago and now I win this. It's incredible.
"I was 30 when I turned
pro and this is only my second year in a big team. But I feel great
and the Belgian champion jersey gave me extra motivation."
Asked if being a
professional rider was harder than working as a mechanic, he said:
"No. It is a very hard job too." Friday's 12th stage leads
the 159 riders left in the race from St Galmier to St Flour over 201.5
kms with a steep two-kms climb at the finish.
Tour de France 11th stage placings
ST ETIENNE, France, July 15 - Placings in the 11th stage of the Tour de France
over 198.5 kms from Le Bourg d'Oisans on Thursday:
1. Ludo Dierckxsens (Belgium) Lampre four hours 34 minutes and three seconds
2. Dimitri Konyshev (Russia) Mercatone Uno one minute and 26 seconds behind 3. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) Casino
4. Wladimir Belli (Italy) Festina all same time
5. Rik Verbrugghe (Belgium) Lotto 1:33
6. Laurent Lefevre (France) Festina 3:53
7. Riccardo Forconi (Italy) Mercatone Uno 5:07
8. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom 22:18
9. Robbie McEwen (Australia) Rabobank
10. Gianpaolo Mondini (Italy) Cantina Tollo
11. Christophe Capelle (France) Big Mat
12. Lars Michaelsen (Denmark) La Francaise de Jeux
13. Silvio Martinello (Italy) Polti
14. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) Credit Agricole
15. Francois Simon (France) Credit Agricole
16. Peter Wuyts (Belgium) Lotto
17. Sebastien Hinault (France) Credit Agricole
18. Stephane Barthe (France) Casino
19. Alexei Sivakov (Russia) Big Mat all same time
20. Richard Virenque (France) Polti 22:21
Overall standings in the Tour de France after 11 stages on Thursday:
1. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal 51 hours 10 minutes and 28 seconds
2. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE seven minutes and 42 seconds behind
3. Alex Zuelle (Switzerland) Banesto 7:47
4. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Saeco 8:07
5. Fernando Escartin (Spain) Kelme 8:53
6. Virenque 10:01
7. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei 10:18
8. Daniele Nardello (Italy) Mapei 10:56
9. Giuseppe Guerini (Italy) Telekom 10:57
10. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio Seguros 11:11
11. Benoit Salmon (France) Casino 12:30
12. Christophe Moreau (France) Festina 12:51
13. Andrea Peron (Italy) ONCE 13:30
14. Kurt van de Wouwer (Belgium) Lotto 16:14
15. Mario Aerts (Belgium) Lotto 17:31
16. Bo Hamburger (Denmark) Cantina Tollo 17:47
17. Manuel Beltran (Spain) Banesto 18:27
18. Stefano Garzelli (Italy) Mercatone Uno 19:07
19. Tyler Hamilton (U.S.) U.S. Postal 19:12
20. Carlos Contreras (Colombia) Kelme 19:58