SAINT-MAIXENT-L'ECOLE, France -- Two champions, two bikes, mountains, plains, crashes and hard racing. And it all comes down to this: 48 kilometres in a race against the clock. By the end of that speedy stretch today, Lance Armstrong should know whether he's beaten rival Jan Ullrich for a record-tying fifth straight Tour de France victory -- and his closest yet.
"I'm relaxed," the 31-year-old Texan said yesterday. "I remain confident, because I've raced very well in the last time trial over the last four years."
Indeed. He's never lost in the final time trial of cycling's most prestigious race since overcoming cancer to first win the Tour in 1999. Armstrong heads into the 19th of this year's 20 stages with a 65-second lead over Ullrich, the 1997 champion and a runner-up four times.
Ullrich earned a four-second bonus by finishing second in an intermediate sprint in yesterday's 203.5-kilometre stage from Bordeaux to this town in west-central France. Armstrong was third in the sprint, picking up two bonus seconds.
With the overall standings so tight, the two seconds Ullrich gained could be crucial. Armstrong, of course, didn't think so.
"It's not important losing two seconds. I don't think the Tour will be decided by two seconds," Armstrong said.
He will be the last rider to don his helmet and mount a high-tech bike for today's leg from the Atlantic port of Pornic to the town of Nantes.
It should not have come to this, as far as Armstrong is concerned. His lead could be in danger; after all, Ullrich beat a dehydrated Armstrong by more than 1 1/2 minutes in a time trial last week.
This Tour has challenged Armstrong much more than any in his four previous wins.
He had stomach flu before the start. He was battered in a crash on the second day, failed to shine in the Alps where he often dominates and, in a moment that seemed to encapsulate his woes, bounced across a field as a key rival, Joseba Beloki, crashed directly in front of him.
18TH STAGE
203.5 kilometres from Bordeaux to Saint-Maixent-L'Ecole
Winner: Pablo Lastras of Spain in four hours, three minutes, 18 seconds, an average of 49.54 km/h, making it the second-fastest Tour road stage ever.
How others fared: 1997 champion Jan Ullrich (24th) and four-time defending champion Lance Armstrong (45th) were in the main pack, 24:05 behind Lastras.
Yellow jersey: Armstrong keeps the overall lead, 1:05 ahead of Ullrich with two stages left.
Quote of the day: "I don't think that two seconds is going to win the Tour." -- Armstrong, reacting to Ullrich's time gain.
Next: Today's 19th stage is a 48-kilometre individual time trial from Pornic to Nantes.
