So Close

Lance Armstrong's Frustrating Day

One second behind lead in Tour de France.

Demigod and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong raced within a second of the lead today in the fourth stage of this year’s Tour de France. Armstrong’s ProTeam Astana squad won the 24.2-mile ride in and around the town of Montpellier after starting the latest stage in third place; the current frontrunner, Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara of the Saxo Bank team, narrowly held the lead with his group finishing third in the leg of the race. Armstrong and Cancellara both have an overall time of 10 hours, 38 minutes and 7 seconds, but Cancellara is technically considered a second ahead. Armstrong acknowledged the need for another pull-ahead although the title is well within his grasp. “This is a little bit of a disappointment,” Armstrong said, referring to the second-place status. “That’s cycling.”