Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov won the ninth stage of the Tour de France, a 184,5km ride from Bourg d’Oisans on Monday in a race overshadowed by the dramatic crash that forced out overnight second-placed cyclist Joseba Beloki.
Beloki’s dramatic crash on the final descent of the day was fortunate not to bring down four-time winner Lance Armstrong, who went on to retain the overall leader’s yellow jersey with a lead of 21 seconds over Vinokourov.
Vinokourov, who won this season’s Paris-Nice for the second year in a row and the Tour of Switzerland, came over the line with room to spare over the peloton after he had attacked on the final climb.
As the Kazakh rider raced ahead on the flat, behind him it was near chaos as Beloki, Armstrong’s main rival for the yellow jersey, crashed while riding downhill.
The Spaniard, who was just 40 seconds adrift of the American in the overall standings, braked sharply and came crashing down onto the road.
”His tyre exploded in front of me,” Armstrong told French television.
”I just saw the pictures. Beloki was just in front of me and I think he fell because of the asphalt. The asphalt was very hot today and wasn’t very safe for riding.”
While he lay prone screaming in agony and being tended to by Once team-mates, 31-year-old Armstrong avoided him and took a shortcut down the grassy part of the descent to rejoin the race.
”I decided to do a bit of cyclo cross!” admitted a laughing Armstrong.
”I was really scared. It was the reflexes of a survivor,” he added.
Armstrong finished fourth coming over the line with a small group of riders. – Sapa-AFP