Armstrong leads rivals on a merry dance

Lance Armstrong dealt another demoralising blow to his Tour de France rivals on Wednesday as he made it two Alpine stage wins out of two with an attacking rhythm no one else could match.

The U.S. Postal rider was out of the saddle from the start of the 32-kilometre mountain time trial from Grenoble to Chamrousse, dancing his way to victory in the 11th stage with a time of one hour seven minutes 27 seconds.

That time was exactly a minute faster than Jan Ullrich could manage and the German is now three minutes 34 seconds behind Armstrong, an overwhelming favourite to complete a hat-trick of Tour victories.

Francois Simon of France managed to hold on to the leader's yellow jersey but Armstrong, who moved up to third in the overall standings, cut his lead by seven minutes to 13:07.

He also reduced his deficit to the Kazakhstan climber Andrei Kivilev to just over two minutes and with the three more mountain stages to come after Thursday's rest day he will be highly confident of making up that time.

Perhaps more significantly, he also gained yet more time on all his main challengers, as Ullrich and the other riders failed to stay the pace.

And he hinted there was even more to come in the future, as he bids to stave off early retirement.

"I still believe there's another level of Lance Armstrong," he said. "When you come to a certain age, 30 or 31 or whatever it is, you stop improving.

"I'll find that extra level through hard work."

BELOKI THIRD

Joseba Beloki finished third on Wednesday, one minute 35 seconds back, while Christophe Moreau was down in eighth at exactly three minutes.

Armstrong now leads Beloki by 3 minutes 10 seconds, Ullrich by 3:34 and Moreau by 5:14.

Beloki began two minutes ahead of Armstrong as the riders took the start in reverse order of their places in the overall standings and he could almost feel the American breathing down his neck.

"I rode a pretty good race but I was worried Armstrong would catch me," Beloki admitted.

Armstrong said his second Alpine victory in two days had been a case of mission accomplished.

"Today I had two objectives," Armstrong said. "I was racing against the other favourites for the race but also against Simon and Kivilev.

"I was surprised Kivilev dropped six minutes. I think I have a good chance of catching him in the Pyrenees."

Wednesday's course provided a stiff challenge for the contenders for the yellow jersey, coming on the back of the three huge climbs faced on Tuesday.

Armstrong claimed that the grimace on his face for much of that first day in the mountains had been a bluff for the cameras but there was nothing stage-managed about his run on Wednesday.

This was just a lung-bursting effort from start to finish from the American, who trained extensively on the course over the winter and won a similar stage in Switzerland in the run-up to his Tour hat-trick bid.

"I played a bit of poker on Tuesday but I knew I wouldn't be able to do that again today," said Armstrong, who rode with his jersey unzipped for much of the stage as he kept up a relentless pace.

PREPARATION

"I rode this course four or five times in preparation, which helped. I think we're now getting closer to the yellow jersey."

The American took 11 seconds off Ullrich over the first 13.5 kms of the course before the steep gradient kicked in.

He extended that advantage to 47 seconds at the 21.5-km mark and quickening his pace still further as he passed the cheering, flag-waving crowds, he eventually took a minute off the German, who is looking fitter and stronger than he has since his win in 1997.

Ullrich's sporting director at Telekom Rudy Pevenage said he was satisfied by his leading rider's performance but conceded there was nothing he could have done to stop Armstrong.

"Ullrich did a great job for us," said Pevenage after Ullrich had stuck to a steady rhythm throughout the stage, in contrast to Armstrong's bursts of pace.

"He's not far from his top form. He's doing well but Armstrong's at a higher level."

Thursday is a much-needed rest day, as the riders fly south west to Perpignan for three more days' climbing in the Pyrenees, when Armstrong will look to catch the top two and protect his advantage over the likes of Ullrich.

"I'm aware that I could pay the price for this effort," Armstrong said. "I won't be setting out to win the Pyrenees stages."