Cycling:Lance Armstrong's bid for a fairytale finale ended in an anticlimax today as Pierrick Fedrigo won the 16th stage of the Tour de France. Once so dominant he won seven successive Tours between 1999 and 2005, Armstrong attempted to bow out with a final flourish.
However, having been in the lead group on the 199.5-kilometre stage from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Pau for much of the day, the Team RadioShack leader, who was more than 40 minutes behind yellow jersey Alberto Contador at the start of the day, finished sixth as Fedrigo (Bbox Bougyues Telecom) won in a sprint finish from Sandy Casar (FDJ) and Ruben Plaza Molina (Caisse D’Epargne).
Carlos Barredo (QuickStep) — fined for fighting earlier in the Tour — attacked after 45km and ploughed ahead, but was caught with less than 2km to go as the day’s racing ended in a sprint.
The day began with Contador (Astana) in possession of the maillot jaune with an eight-second lead over Andy Schleck (Team Saxo Bank) after the Spaniard controversially took advantage of his rival’s mechanical problem yesterday.
With a long descent to the finish in Pau, the duo chose not to attack today. But while the race for the maillot jaune appears to be a duel between Contador and Schleck, Armstrong, who finished third in his comeback Tour in 2009 behind the same duo, had the personal ambition of taking a 26th stage win.
The 38-year-old American, who is riding in his 13th and final Tour and has worn the yellow jersey for 83 days, could not shake off his rivals and was beaten to the line in the sprint.
And with four days of racing remaining, he is unlikely to get another opportunity to stand atop the podium.
Tomorrow is the final rest day at the Tour, with Thursday’s 174km 17th stage from Pau to Col du Tourmalet set to be the last opportunity for Schleck to gain time on Contador ahead of Saturday’s 52km time-trial — the Spaniard is the more adept rider against the clock.
After crossing the line in the main peleton, Ireland's Nicolas Roche dropped another place to 18th in the overall standings and faces a tough battle in the coming days to achieve his stated goal of a top 15 finish.
Having spent more than five hours on the saddle, Roche would probably appreciate a beer -- but he is unlikely to invite along team mate John Gadret.
The AG2R La Mondiale team leader was left bitterly upset after Gadret launched an attack in yesterday's 15th stage, just as Roche was struggling to get back into the pack after suffering a puncture.
Team manager Vincent Lavenu was forced to play peacekeeper today after Roche wrote in his newspaper column: "If John Gadret is found dead in his hotel room in the morning, I will probably be the primary suspect."
Asked about his comments, Gadret deadpanned: "It's internal to the team. It's none of your business," he said.
Roche said their dispute had been resolved after Lavenu's intervention. "I wasn't happy at all. I think we've settled things out. Today was another day, he (Gadret) gave me a hand today," said the Irishman.
"Even if I hadn't said anything, I think anybody would have guessed my words. That's why managers are there, Vincent Lavenu played his role, he wasn't happy at all."
The hatchet maybe buried but Roche and Gadret are unlikely to share a beer in the near future.
"I'm not going to go for a pint with him yet," said Roche.
Stage 16 result
1. Pierrick Fedrigo (France / Bbox - Bouygues) 5hrs 31mins 43s
2. Sandy Casar (France / FDJ) same time
3. Ruben Plaza (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne)
4. Damiano Cunego (Italy / Lampre)
5. Chris Horner (U.S. / RadioShack)
6. Lance Armstrong (U.S. / RadioShack)
7. Jurgen Van de Walle (Belgium / Quick-Step)
8. Christophe Moreau (France / Caisse d'Epargne)
9. Carlos Barredo (Spain / Quick-Step) +28"
Overall standings1. Alberto Contador (Spain / Astana) 78 hrs 29 mins 10s
2. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank) +8s
3. Samuel Sanchez (Spain / Euskaltel) +2:00"
4. Denis Menchov (Russia / Rabobank) +2:13"
5. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Belgium/Omega Pharma-Lotto) +3:39"
6. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / Rabobank) +5:01"
7. Levi Leipheimer (U.S. / RadioShack) +5:25"
8. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain / Katusha) +5:45"
9. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan / Astana) +7:12"
10. Ryder Hesjedal (Canada / Garmin) +7:51"
Selected Others18. Nicolas Roche (Ireland / AG2R) +12:34"