Lance: Hincapie deserves yellow
Lance Armstrong made no move to take the yellow jersey in the 14th stage on Saturday, as he and other general classification contenders saved themselves for Sunday's stage in the Alps.
But the seven-time winner was more than a little disappointed a couple of teams worked to keep the yellow jersey from former teammate George Hincapie.
"Until 10km to go he was solidly in yellow until GARMIN put on the gas and made sure it didn't happen," Armstrong wrote on his Twitter feed. "(Hincapie) deserves to be in yellow tonight. He deserves more than that."
Hincapie, a 36-year-old American who rides for the Columbia team, entered the stage 5:25 behind Rinaldo Nocentini in 28th place. Through the final miles, Hincapie's breakaway group was more than six minutes ahead of the Italian, fanning suspense about the yellow shirt.
Hincapie arrived 16 seconds after stage winner Serguei Ivanov in a small breakaway group.
Nocentini's AG2R-La Mondiale team, then American team Garmin both accelerated the pace, trimming the gap by the finish. Hincapie missed the yellow jersey by five seconds.
TV cameras showed a frustrated Hincapie as he watched Nocentini's pack cross the finish line. He did not speak to reporters before entering the team bus.
Nocentini kept the yellow jersey an eighth straight day. Alberto Contador dropped from second to third. six seconds behind Nocentini. Armstrong is another two seconds back in fourth place.
Hincapie is the only rider to be a teammate of Armstrong as he won seven straight Tour titles from 1999 to 2005. Hincapie wore the leader's shirt for a day in 2006 — the year after Armstrong retired.
"George is a good friend," Armstrong said. "We wanted him to have the jersey — it would have been great for him."
The race enters the Alps for Sunday's 15th stage, a 129-mile ride from Pontarlier, France, to the Swiss ski station of Verbier. The three-week Tour ends July 26 in Paris.
Serguei Ivanov of Russia won the 14th stage and Armstrong's former teammate George Hincapie rose to second, just missing the yellow jersey. Hincapie arrived 16 seconds after Ivanov in a small breakaway group.
Ivanov made a sign of the cross as he finished the stage in 4 hours, 37 minutes, 46 seconds after escaping the breakaway group with about seven miles left.
Ireland's Nicolas Roche, son of former Tour champion Stephen Roche, was second, and Hayden Roulston of New Zealand was third. They finished with Hincapie, 16 seconds behind Ivanov.
The 34-year-old Russian national champion, who won a Tour stage in 2001, collapsed on a curb after finishing to catch his breath.
"It's an amazing victory," he said. "I didn't have any more air. I was just two minutes, breathing, breathing. ... I gave all my energy."
Ivanov rose to 56th place overall, 27:47 behind Nocentini. The Russian entered the day's stage in 62th place, 33:23 back.
OVERALL STANDINGS
(After 14 stages)
1. Rinaldo Nocentini, Italy, AG2R-La Mondiale, 58:13:52. 2. George Hincapie, United States, Team Columbia-High Road, :05. 3. Alberto Contador, Spain, Astana, :06. 4. Lance Armstrong, United States, Astana, :08. 5. Christophe Le Mevel, France, Francaise des Jeux, :43. 6. Bradley Wiggins, Britain, Garmin-Slipstream, :46. 7. Andreas Kloeden, Germany, Astana, :54. 8. Tony Martin, Germany, Team Columbia-High Road, 1:00. 9. Christian Vande Velde, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, 1:24. 10. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, 1:49. 11. Vincenzo Nibali, Italy, Liquigas, 1:54. 12. Luis Leon Sanchez, Spain, Caisse d'Epargne, 2:16. 13. Maxime Montfort, Belgium, Team Columbia-High Road, 2:21. 14. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, 2:25. 15. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Republic, Liquigas, 2:40. 16. Vladimir Efimkin, Russia, AG2R-La Mondiale, 2:45. 17. Carlos Sastre, Spain, Cervelo Test Team, 2:52. 18. Mikel Astarloza, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 3:02. 19. Cadel Evans, Australia, Silence-Lotto, 3:07. 20. Kim Kirchen, Luxembourg, Team Columbia-High Road, 3:16. Also 79. David Zabriskie, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, 47:27. 158. Tyler Farrar, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, 1:43:43. 159. Danny Pate, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, 1:44:33.
14TH STAGE
1. Serguei Ivanov, Russia, Team Katusha, 2. Nicolas Roche, Ireland, AG2R-La Mondiale, 16 seconds behind. 3. Hayden Roulston, New Zealand, Cervelo Test Team, same time. 4. Martijn Maaskant, Netherlands, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 5. Sebastien Minard, France, Cofidis, same time. 6. Daniele Righi, Italy, Lampre-NGC, same time. 7. Christophe Le Mevel, France, Francaise des Jeux, same time. 8. George Hincapie, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 9. Daniele Bennati, Italy, Liquigas, same time. 10. Gerald Ciolek, Germany, Team Milram, :22. 11. Albert Timmer, Netherlands, Skil-Shimano, :26. 12. Frederik Willems, Belgium, Liquigas, 3:41. 13. Mark Cavendish, Britain, Team Columbia-High Road, 5:36. 14. Thor Hushovd, Norway, Cervelo Test Team, same time. 15. Mark Renshaw, Australia, Team Columbia-High Road, same time. 16. Yauheni Hutarovich, Belarus, Francaise des Jeux, same time. 17. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain, Caisse d'Epargne, same time. 18. Koen de Kort, Netherlands, Skil-Shimano, same time. 19. Marco Bandiera, Italy, Lampre-NGC, same time. 20. Brett Lancaster, Australia, Cervelo Test Team, same time. Also 34. Tyler Farrar, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 37. Christian Vande Velde, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 38. Alberto Contador, Spain, Astana, same time. 46. Rinaldo Nocentini, Italy, AG2R-La Mondiale, same time. 49. Andreas Kloeden, Germany, Astana, same time. 50. Lance Armstrong, United States, Astana, same time. 71. Bradley Wiggins, Britain, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 139. David Zabriskie, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, same time. 147. Danny Pate, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, same time.