GAP, France, 15 July 2003 — Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan won the yesterday’s eventful ninth stage of the 2003 Tour de France as four-time champion Lance Armstrong retained the leader’s yellow jersey.
Vinokourov covered the mountainous 184.5-kilometer course from Le Bourg-d’Oisans to Gap through the French Alps in 5:02.00 hours, finishing 36 seconds ahead of a group of riders that included Armstrong.
Officially, Italian Paolo Bettini finished second, with Iban Mayo of Spain third and Armstrong in fourth position.
The stage was marred by a serious crash by one of the Tour favorites, Spaniard Joseba Beloki, who fell in front of Armstrong on the descent from the final climb and was forced to abandon the race with injuries to the right side of his body.
Armstrong had to react quickly to avoid crashing over Beloki, and rode through an adjacent field, losing valuable seconds.
“That was just pure survival reflex on my part,” Armstrong said. “I was in a panic.”
Beloki, who finished second in last year’s Tour, was second behind Armstrong when he crashed. He was regarded by many as the man most likely to keep the 31-year-old American from winning his record-equaling fifth Tour victory in a row.
The stage, again run in crushing heat, crossed four mountains, including the 2,360-meter Col d’Izoard, rated “beyond category” in difficulty.
Vinokourov made his move on the final climb, some 10 kilometers from the finish, taking off on his own and soon overtaking a small group of riders that had broken away from the main pack early in the stage.
Armstrong and Beloki were racing after the Kazakh, and were slowly gaining on him when the Spaniard crashed.
With Beloki out of the Tour, Vinokourov now stands second behind Armstrong, only 21 seconds adrift. Mayo is third, 1:02 behind.
The 29-year-old leader of the German Team Telekom was delighted with the first Tour de France stage course of his career, and dedicated it to his twin girls.
Yesterday’s stage was the final one of this year’s Tour through the French Alps.
Yesterday’s relatively flat 219.5-kilometer course from Gap to the Mediterranean port city of Marseille will again put the sprinters in the spotlight as a mass sprint will probably decide the stage winner.
