Tour de France Capsules: Armstrong fumes as old chum misses Tour yellow

BESANCON, France — Lance Armstrong was unfazed about slipping to fourth place at the Tour de France. Instead, he was riled that his former lieutenant, George Hincapie, was deprived of the yellow jersey — allegedly by a rival U.S. team.

Hincapie, the only man to be a teammate of Armstrong on all seven of his Tour victories, came within 5 seconds of the race lead in the 14th stage won Saturday by Russia’s Serguei Ivanov.

The ride was marred by the death of a 61-year-old woman spectator after she was hit by an escorting police motorcycle while she crossed the course route. Two other fans were injured.

Columbia rider Hincapie finished the 124-mile stage from Colmar to Besancon in an 8-man group just 16 seconds after the Russian, who was 5 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of the main race contenders.

Starting the stage as the highest-placed rider in the breakaway group, 5:25 behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy, Hincapie had a shot to swipe the leader’s yellow shirt.

Instead, as Armstrong and his Astana team claimed, the U.S. squad Garmin-Slipstream pressed the pace in a way that helped the Italian hold a slim lead over Hincapie.

Armstrong, on his Twitter feed, took aim at Garmin-Slipstream, which competes with Columbia for dibs as the top American squad at the Tour this year.

"No one wanted George in yellow more than me," he tweeted.

"Until 10km (6.2 miles) to go he was solidly in yellow until GARMIN put on the gas and made sure it didn’t happen," Armstrong wrote.

Hincapie, "deserves to be in yellow tonight. He deserves more than that," he added.

French TV cameras showed Hincapie as he watched Nocentini’s pack cross the finish line — and he harumphed in frustration that he had not garnered the yellow shirt.

"I don’t know why you would do that with George at this stage of his career," Columbia manager Bob Stapleton said.

"I mean that’s a victory for everybody. That’s something that would have gotten attention all over the U.S., that would have been good for the whole sport in America," he said.

A Garmin spokeswoman didn’t respond to calls from The Associated Press seeking comment after the stage.

For Armstrong, it was little matter that Hincapie’s performance put him in second overall, bumping him and Astana teammate Alberto Contador each down a notch in the standings.

Contador, who too said he hoped Hincapie would take the race lead, dropped from second to third, but remains 6 seconds behind Nocentini. The Texan fell from third to fourth, 8 seconds back.

Sentiment aside, Hincapie in yellow would have meant that his powerful Columbia team would take on the tough job of protecting the race lead in Sunday’s 15th stage — the first ride in the Alps and a likely pivot point for the overall race standings. Astana, with its big stars, could let Columbia do the work of leading the pack.

Astana doesn’t consider Hincapie a threat for overall Tour victory when the race ends next Sunday in Paris. He isn’t expected to fare as well as Contador and Armstrong in the Alps or in a critical individual time trial in and near Annecy in Thursday’s Stage 18.

"Garmin just wanted to prevent another American team from taking the yellow jersey. It’s not right," Astana manager Johan Bruyneel said. "It’s not very sporting.

"It’s a story that I think will continue," he said.

"Given the history we have with George, I would have liked him to take the jersey — but independent of that, I don’t think it was a fair way of racing," he added.

Columbia sustained a second blow Saturday: its star sprinter, Mark Cavendish of Britain, was fined and penalized by Tour officials for blocking his rival Thor Hushovd in a final sprint. The two men are competing for the green jersey awarded to the Tour’s best sprinter.

Cavendish was demoted to last place in the stage, vastly denting his hopes of taking home the green jersey by depriving him of points he could have gained in the discipline. Hushovd has the green jersey.

For Ivanov, the day was much more fulfilling. He made a sign of the cross as he finished in 4 hours, 37 minutes, 46 seconds after escaping the breakaway group with 6.8 miles left.

The 34-year-old Russian national champion, who also won a Tour stage in 2001, splayed out on a curb after finishing so he could catch his breath.

"It’s an amazing victory," he said, explaining in English his retreat to the curb. "I didn’t have any more air. I was just 2 minutes, breathing, breathing ... I was very tired.

"I gave all my energy on the last 10 k’s. "

Ivanov rose to 56th place overall, 27:47 behind Nocentini. The Russian had entered the day’s stage in 62th place, 33:23 back.

The race moves into the Alps for Sunday’s 15th stage, a 128.9-mile ride from Pontarlier, France, to the Swiss ski station of Verbier.

Strong climbers will be the riders to watch, including two-time Tour runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia, 2008 Tour champion Carlos Sastre of Spain, and Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

Schleck is 1:49 behind Nocentini, who is not seen as a title threat, while Sastre is 2:52 back and Evans trails by 3:07. Astana senses it’s now or never for them to make their move — or not at all.

"I think Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans and Sastre have to attack," Bruyneel said. "If they don’t attack tomorrow I don’t know when they’re going to attack."

Woman dies after being hit by police motorcycle

BESANCON, France — A woman crossing the road during the Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.

The accident happened in the early afternoon in Wittelsheim in eastern France during the 14th stage, a 124-mile route from Colmar to Besancon. A few breakaway riders had just ridden through the town center, Tour organizers said.

Organizers identified the victim as a 61-year-old woman. Race medical teams treated her immediately before emergency staffers arrived.

The accident happened 24 miles into the stage. After hitting the woman, the motorcycle skidded into two other fans. A 36-year-old complained of neck pain, and a 61-year-old broke a leg. They were taken to a hospital and are not in serious condition, Renard said. They were identified only by age.

Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong expressed condolences to the woman’s family on his Twitter feed.

"There’s many close calls between riders and spectators ... Sad news. May she RIP," he wrote.

Lt. Col. Thierry Renard said the officer on the motorcycle was a member of France’s elite Republican Guard and he was unable to avoid the woman.

The officer headed the Guard’s "yellow flags" unit at the Tour, made up of experienced drivers, Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. Their job is to spot obstacles on the road and clear the path for the rider pack. The officers often drive at high speeds.

Renard said he had no reason to question the driving of the motorcyclist, who had already worked on the Tour several times.

Tour organizers will use a previously scheduled commemoration before Sunday’s 15th stage in Pontarlier to honor the woman. The minute of silence was already planned to remember a young cycling fan from the region who died in a car crash last month.

Deadly accidents are rare on the Tour de France. One boy was killed in 2000 and another in 2002 after being hit by sponsors’ vehicles.

Tour organizers responded by reducing the number of sponsor vehicles on the course. For every race stage, an alternate itinerary is provided to relieve vehicle congestion.

"Security is the priority of Tour de France organizers," Prudhomme said. "There is absolutely no doubt about that."

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux ordered a police inquiry and reminded spectators to take all precautions. A total of 23,000 police officers are deployed on the Tour.

The motorcycle accident came a day after two riders were slightly injured by shots from what French authorities suspect was an air rifle.

-- Samuel Petrequin

Notebook: Freire pushed air-rifle pellet out of his leg

BESANCON, France — Oscar Freire is one of the fastest riders in the Tour de France, but he’s not faster than a speeding pellet.

The three-time world cycling champion was shot in the leg by what his Rabobank team thinks was an air rifle during Friday’s stage from Vittel to Colmar through the steep, forested Vosges mountains.

"During the race he heard the shot and he felt the pain in his leg, and he thought, ‘Hey, this is crazy, I’m being shot at," team doctor Dion Van Bommel said before Saturday’s stage.

New Zealand racer Julian Dean was shot in the finger and slightly injured, according to his Garmin Slipstream team.

"At the time, I thought it was like a stone or something coming up from one of the riders’ tires," Dean said Saturday.

Freire declined first aid from a race doctor and finished the stage. It wasn’t until hours later, stepping out of a shower at the hotel, that he complained about the wound to Van Bommel.

"He took a shower and then he said, "Hey, look, I was shot," Van Bommel said. "I was taking care of (Juan Antonio) Flecha, who really hurt his knee, and I said, ‘Are you joking?"’

Freire answered the doctor’s skepticism by calling Van Bommel into the shower and pushed the pellet out of his leg in front of him, Van Bommel said.

"I said, ‘This is crazy, you’re not at the Tour to get shot at,"’ Van Bommel said.

Police visited the team’s hotel late Friday to speak with Freire, and an investigation started.

"Actually, I think it’s some stupid kids who were walking there who said hey — poof, poof — and maybe thinking that the bullet would never reach the racers," Van Bommel said.

For Freire, it was nothing new.

"He told me that when he was younger, he was on his motorbike or something, and someone shot at him," Van Vommel said. "He’s used to shooting accidents."

CAVENDISH DEMOTED

Tour officials stripped British sprinter Mark Cavendish of his 13th-place finish in Saturday’s stage, ruling he unfairly cut off rival Thor Hushovd in the home straightaway.

Race officials fined Cavendish $185 for an "irregular sprint," and demoted him to last place in the 14th stage.

The nearly unbeatable Manx sprinter, winner of four stages already in this year’s Tour, sped to the finish just ahead of Hushovd — his main rival for the green jersey given to the best sprinter.

Hushovd, the current green jersey holder, tried to pass but Columbia-High Road rider Cavendish moved over to block him, cutting off the Norwegian and boxing him in along the barricades.

The two racers continued yelling and arguing with each other after crossing the line.

Hushovd has an 18-point lead over Cavendish for the green jersey, with only the final stage on Paris’ Champs-Elysees on July 26 likely to favor sprinters.

Cavendish has said winning the green jersey was a top goal this year.

-- Greg Keller

A brief look at Saturday’s 14th stage of the Tour

BESANCON, France — A brief look at Saturday’s 14th stage of the Tour de France:

Stage: A 123.7-mile ride from Colmar to Besancon, featuring two little climbs. The stage was marred by the death of a 61-year-old woman who was crossing the road when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.

Winner: Serguei Ivanov of Russia, 16 seconds ahead of Irish rider Nicolas Roche. Hayden Roulston of New Zealand finished third. Lance Armstrong fell to fourth overall, and former teammate George Hincapie of the United States rose to second, 5 seconds behind race leader Rinaldo Nocentini.

Yellow Jersey: Nocentini of the AG2R-La Mondiale team held onto the lead by finishing in the main pack with Astana’s Armstrong and Alberto Contador.

Quote of the Day: "Hincapie deserves to be yellow tonight. He deserves more than that. Look to who pulled the last 50k to see who to blame ..." — Armstrong, criticizing the Garmin team’s strategy that prevented his old friend to take the leader’s yellow jersey.

Next stage: Sunday’s 15th stage is a 128.9-mile trek in the Alps between Pontarlier and Verbier, Switzerland. The stage features six climbs, including a demanding 5.5-mile last ascent to the ski resort.

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