Saint Girons, July 21: Italy's Gilberto Simoni made up for a disappointing Tour de France by winning the 14th stage on Sunday as American Lance Armstrong clung on to the race lead in the Pyrenees. Giro winner Simoni, dropped by four-times champion Armstrong and other Tour contenders in the Alps, won this year's most gruelling stage over 191.5 km, featuring six hard climbs and including four first category passes. Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov, third overall at the start, attacked in the last hill, the Peyresourde pass. He took 43 seconds off the leading pair of Armstrong and German Jan Ullrich at the top -- but at one stage threatened to take the yellow jersey. Armstrong, bidding for a record-equalling fifth Tour victory next Sunday, is still leading the race by a thread. Ullrich is second overall, 15 seconds behind, with Vinokourov third, 18 seconds adrift. On the day, Simoni finished ahead of two other mountain specialists, Frenchman Richard Virenque and Swiss Laurent Dufaux, with the Armstrong group 1:24 behind.


Virenque was first to the top of four of the six climbs and now looks almost certain to win a record-equalling sixth polka-dot jersey as King of the Mountains.


If the Frenchman keeps his lead in the standings, he will join Spain's Federico Bahamontes and Belgian Lucien van Impe as the only riders to have won the climber's title six times.


Virenque, Dufaux and Simoni dropped what remained of a group of early breakaways in the first category Portillon pass, the penultimate climb of the day.


Leading placings in Sunday's 14th stage of the Tour de France cycle race over 191.5 km from St Girons to Loudenvielle: 1. Gilberto Simoni (Italy) Saeco 5 hours 31 minutes 52 seconds 2. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Alessio 3. Richard Virenque (France) Quick Step both same time 4. Andrea Peron (Italy) Team CSC 3 seconds behind 5. Walter Beneteau (France) Brioches 10 6. Alexander Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) Team Telekom 41 7. Iban Mayo (Spain) Euskaltel 8. Steve Zampieri (Switzerland) Vini Caldirola both same time 9. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) Euskaltel 1:24 10. Ivan Basso (Italy) Fassa Bortolo 11. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal Service 12. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Team Bianchi all same time 13. Christophe Moreau (France) Credit Agricole 2:14 14. Daniele Nardello (Italy) Team Telekom 3:04 15. Alexandre Botcharov (Russia) AG2R same time 16. Denis Menchov (Russia) iBanesto.com 4:31 17. Tyler Hamilton (U.S.) Team CSC 18. Joerg Jaksche (Germany) ONCE 19. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) iBanesto.com 20. Peter Luettenberger (Austria) Team CSC 21. Didier Rous (France) Brioches 22. Roberto Laiseka (Spain) Euskaltel 23. Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) U.S. Postal Service all same time 24. Georg Totschnig (Austria) Gerolsteiner 5:17 25. Carlos Sastre (Spain) Team CSC 26. Manuel Beltran (Spain) U.S. Postal Service both same time 27. Laurent Brochard (France) AG2R 6:51 28. Nicki Sorensen (Denmark) Team CSC 29. Xabier Zandio (Spain) iBanesto.com both same time 30. Christophe Brandt (Belgium) Lotto 8:22


Leading overall (yellow jersey) standings: 1. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal Service 61:07:17 2. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Team Bianchi 15 seconds behind 3. Alexander Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) Team Telekom 18 4. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) Euskaltel 4:16 5. Iban Mayo (Spain) Euskaltel 4:37 6. Ivan Basso (Italy) Fassa Bortolo 7:01 7. Tyler Hamilton (U.S.) Team CSC 7:32 8. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) iBanesto.com 10:09 9. Christophe Moreau (France) Credit Agricole same time 10. Carlos Sastre (Spain) Team CSC 12.40 11. Richard Virenque (France) Quick Step 12:51 12. Denis Menchov (Russia) iBanesto.com 13:37 13. Georg Totschnig (Austria) Gerolsteiner 15:08 14. Manuel Beltran (Spain) U.S. Postal Service 15:50 15. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Alessio 17:21 16. Didier Rous (France) Brioches 19:30 17. Jorg Jaksche (Germany) ONCE 20:29 18. Roberto Laiseka (Spain) Euskaltel 0:47 19. Peter Luettenberger (Austria) Team CSC 20:56 20. Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) U.S. Postal Service 24:24


Bureau Report