When US bike racer David Zabriskie skidded across the pavement just 1.5 kilometers from the finish line today, Lance Armstrong knew he was back in the yellow jersey this year.
The big question for Armstrong, team manager Johan Brunyeel, and the rest of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team is: Do we defend it vigorously for the next 2-plus weeks? Or do we let it slip away, let another team do the work of defending it, then pick it back up at the end of the Tour de France?
Zabriskie, a 25-year-old rider for Team CSC, had held the overall leader's jersey since the first stage on Saturday. He led former teammate Armstrong by just 2 seconds going into today's team time trial.
Ironically, if Zabriskie had stayed upright, he and Armstrong would have been tied for the yellow, as the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team beat CSC by just 2 seconds today.
As it turned out, though, it looks as if Zabriskie touched the wheel of the rider in front of him, hit the deck and spun around. He got a new bike from the team car and crossed the finish line after his team, bloodied and demoralized.
The Discovery team covered the 42-mile stretch from Tours to Blois in 1:10:39, or about 35.5 mph. Team CSC covered it 2 seconds slower, followed by T-Mobile in third, Liberty Seguros in fourth and Phonak in fifth.
Four Americans remain in the top 10 in general classification. They are Armstrong, George Hincapie (2, Discovery), Bobby Julich (4, CSC), and Zabriskie (9). Another US rider, Floyd Landis of Phonak, dropped to 20th place, 1:50 behind the leader.
In spite of T-Mobile's strong efforts at coming in third, their favorites dropped back in the overall standings. Alexandre Vinokourov slipped back to 7th, 1:21 behind Armstrong, and Jan Ullich dropped to 14th, 1:36 back.
Other yellow jersey contenders: Ivan Basso, Team CSC, climbed to 10th, 1:26 behind, and the US's Levi Leipheimer, Gerolsteiner, ended in 28th, 2:21 behind.
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