Lance Armstrong finished the sixth stage of the Tour de France on Friday in 39th place, recording the same time as winner Alessandro Petacchi of Italy.The Texan, who had a quiet day riding in the middle of the field, clearly had his mind on Saturday’s first big mountain stage as he seeks his fifth Tour victory. “Today’s stage was not too difficult for us in the US Postal Service team,” he said. “We kept the jersey with (race leader) Victor Hugo Pena but we didn’t have to do any work.” . but Mayo keen to upset the champ LYON: A month after inflicting a rare defeat on Lance Armstrong in the mountains, Spaniard Iban Mayo will attempt to repeat the feat. Mayo beat the American on June 12 in the Dauphine libere stage that ended in Morzine, but he is expecting a tougher test this time in the first mountain stage of the Tour. “I battled it out with Armstrong in June but I’m more careful about the greatest race in the world,” the Euskaltel team leader said on Friday. “In this Tour, I want a stage win first and after the Alps, we’ll see what I can expect as far as the overall standings are concerned,” he added. “I’m looking forward to being back in Morzine because it remains a great memory as I beat Armstrong there a month ago. “But above all, I’m convinced there will be attacks from all the riders who have pledged to show their real strength against Armstrong.” Mayo singled out Italian Giro winner Gilberto Simoni as the rider most likely to attack. “I felt sorry for Stuart O’Grady and Anthony Geslin. They were away for a long time but were caught just before the finish line.”After a week of flat stages in North and eastern France, Armstrong’s Tour de France begins in earnest on Saturday with the 230.5-kilometre stage, the longest in the race, from Lyon to Morzine in the Alps.The decisive climb of the stage is the Col de la Ramaz, 20 kilometres from the finish. It goes up to an altitude of 1619 metres, lasts 14.3 kilometres and has an average gradient of 6.9 percent. Armstrong, who went over the climb when he rode the Dauphine Libere race in June, is convinced it will be an important factor in this year’s Tour de France.“Contrary to what people have said, Saturday will be a real mountain stage,” Armstrong said before the race. At 230km it’s a very long stage and so we will be racing for six and a half hours. It’s going to be a long day in the saddle and the heat will also be a factor.“The Col de la Ramaz is a tough climb and will make a difference because it is so close to the end of the stage. There are several steep sections and there is never an easy moment to catch your breath.“It will be an important stage of the race and definitelynot a warm-up for the following day to L’Alpe D’Huez.” (Reuters)
