Today was a sad day in the history of the Tour de France. Bad luck and age caught up with Lance Armstrong today to leave him 13:26 off the lead. (See Letour for full standings.) Compounding his trouble on the cobbles in stage 3, Lance fell 3 times today and at age 38, he just didn’t have the gas to rejoin the leaders. Regardless of the falls, Lance really didn’t have what it took to keep pace on the climb as teams Sky and Astana held a fast tempo up the high mountains. The other contenders, Contador, Evans, Schleck and Menchov were able to stay together. Notably, Lance’s teammate Levi Leipheimer was able to stay with the leaders, and leave team Radio Shack with a shot at the podium.
Monday is a rest day followed by more mountain stages in the Alps next week. Watch for Contador to try and make up time on Schleck and Evans, as Lance turns into a domestic to help Levi move up the standings.
