NIMES, France — As much as traveling 119.6 miles on a bike on a hot, windy day can be, it was an easy ride through the verdant French countryside Sunday at the Tour de France for all the cyclists who still think of themselves as contenders.
Aitor Gonzalez of Spain, a 29-year-old rider for the Fassa Bortolo, has never completed a Tour de France, but he raised his hands in triumph Sunday as he won the 14th stage, a steamy, flat ride from Carcassonne to this city of Roman ruins on the edge of Provence.
Gonzalez became the first Spaniard to win a stage in a year when Spaniards had high hopes that one of their own, Iban Mayo most probably, could unseat five-time defending champion Lance Armstrong.
It won't be a Spaniard who defeats Armstrong this year. It seems more likely that only Armstrong can keep himself from winning an unprecedented sixth straight title.
After a punishing two days in the Pyrenees where he took more than nine minutes from the lead of Thomas Voeckler and left most of his other top rivals with apparently insurmountable deficits or out of the race entirely, Armstrong and his U.S. Postal teammates rode at a leisurely pace, content to finish 14:12 behind Gonzalez.
Armstrong remains in second place overall, 22 seconds behind Voeckler. Italy's Ivan Basso, who rode side-by-side with Armstrong on Friday and Saturday, is still in third place, 1:17 behind Armstrong.
Voeckler, an appealing 25-year-old who has stamped himself as a future winner of the Tour, happily accepted another day as owner of the yellow jersey that is worn by the overall leader. He crossed the finish line on Armstrong's wheel and afterward Voeckler said he felt a sense of accomplishment and contentment.
It has been almost 20 years since a Frenchman has won the race. Voeckler, with a gutsy piece of riding Saturday, proved a lot of people wrong. He continually fell behind the leaders only to stand up in the pedals and push himself further and keep the yellow jersey instead of surrendering it to Armstrong. Voeckler will wear the maillot jaune for a ninth time when the Tour resumes Tuesday after a final rest day.
"Whatever else happens," Voeckler, a member of the French team Brioches La Boulangere, said Sunday, "the pressure on me is gone. We crossed the Pyrenees with the yellow jersey and that fulfilled our ambitions. Every other day now that I hold it is a bonus."
