Lance Armstrong Wins the Sixteenth Stage of the Tour de France - 2004-07-21

Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist, won the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France, which was a time trial held over a distance of 15.5 kilometers. Armstrong, a five-time defending champion riding for the U.S. Postal Service team, was the only cyclist to complete the very difficult uphill course to the ski resort, which included 21 sharp turns, in under 40 minutes. Armstrong had the advantage of being the last cyclist in the lineup of participants. Amid the cheers and applause of the spectators, and while wearing the yellow jersey of the overall leader, he completed the course in 39 minutes, 41 seconds, and 47 hundredths of a second. His main rival, Jan Ullrich, the German cyclist, finished the course 1 minute and 1 second behind. Andreas Kloden, another German cyclist, was the third to finish, 1 minute and 41 seconds behind. This was the first time a time trial was held on this difficult and famous course. Armstrong also led in the fifteenth stage of the competition and has now won a total of three stages in this event. He currently ranks first in the overall standings with a time of 67 hours, 53 minutes, and 24 seconds. Italian cyclist Ivan Basso is in second place, 3 minutes and 48 seconds behind, and Andreas Kloden from Germany is in third place, 5 minutes and 3 hundredths of a second behind. The seventeenth stage of the competition will be held over a distance of 204.5 kilometers and includes five climbs, one of which reaches an elevation of 6,600 feet.