July 23, 2005

"You enjoy yourself when you know it's almost over."

The New York Times looks back at yesterday's 19th stage of the Tour de France, and forward to the now-inevitable conclusion: Lance Armstrong in yellow for a seventh straight year.

Lance Armstrong smoothly moved a day closer to his coronation and retirement while spending a quiet Friday afternoon in the countryside as the Tour de France followed a script as inflexible as that of a Kabuki drama.

"You enjoy yourself when you know it's almost over," Armstrong, the leader of the Discovery Channel team, said Thursday, referring to his retirement on Sunday after the race concludes in Paris.

There was a lot to enjoy in the 19th stage Friday. The heat abated a bit, the sky was laced with puffball clouds, the route offered soothing vistas of the Massif Central and the air was scented with pine forests and newly mown hay. Amusingly, the road passed over the Ance River, marked on signs as l'Ance.

Beyond such bucolic pleasures, there was not much else. As interesting and exciting as the race had been at low levels, the Tour has been devoid of suspense at the top for a week. Armstrong has all but locked up his seventh successive Tour and is expected be anointed champion a day after the long time trial in St. Étienne on Saturday.

The time trial, in which Armstrong and his team should excel, is the last chance for the riders at the top of the standings to make a move. The final stage into Paris on Sunday is typically won by a sprinter.

Lance Armstrong is aiming to cap his record seventh win in the Tour de France with a win in the individual trime trial today, although Armstrong says Jan Ullrich is the favorite in today's 20th stage.