France: Seven-times champion Lance Armstrong is not expecting any presents from the peloton as he searches for a stage win in his final Tour de France.
The 38-year-old American, who finished third last year on his comeback Tour after retirement, finished Sunday’s 14th stage in 70th place, 15 minutes 14 seconds behind winner Christophe Riblon of France. He is 38th in the overall standings, 39:44 off the pace.
“I’d still like to get one (a stage win). The race is hard, nobody’s gonna give it away,” Armstrong told reporters.
“I don’t want anybody to say ‘hey, let’s let the old man have one’, that’s not what this event is about. It’s a hard sport and the best guy is supposed to win on a daily basis and on a three-week basis,” he said.
“I don’t need somebody to hand me one (stage win). I do my best, but as you know, we’re running out of chances.”
The RadioShack rider had a solid start to his Tour with a strong showing in the prologue but things then went from bad to worse.
He lost time with a puncture on the cobblestones of stage three and crashed in the first stage in the Alps last Sunday as his hopes of the overall win vanished.
Having been dropped in the first of two punishing climbs in Sunday’s first Pyrenean stage, Armstrong took his time.
“I sat up and I enjoyed it. It’s a unique experience for me to have the time to look around, look at people. I’m not going to win the Tour but I’m going out there to have a good time,” a relaxed Armstrong said.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.