| 07/18/2005 | Lance Armstrong probably couldn't have scripted the first two weeks of the Tour de France much better.
No crashes, no dehydration, no real threat from his rivals so far. The Texan has even handled the occasional below-par showing from his teammates, and come away with a comfortable lead.
Now, it seems only an accident or an alarming drop in form can stop him from winning a seventh straight Tour.
"It's more secure, but it's not final. We have to be safe and know there's still tough days to come," Armstrong said after finishing a solid seventh in Sunday's 15th stage. "You never know, you go to a village and take a turn too fast and break your collarbone ... Tour de France over. So you have to be realistic. We have a week to go and a lot of things can get in the way."
He did not include his main rivals in the list of potential dangers.
Italian Ivan Basso is 2 minutes, 46 seconds behind in second, 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich trails by 5:58 and Alexandre Vinokourov by 9:38 heading into Monday's rest day in Pau.
Following on from Pau is one tough mountain in the Pyrenees, two other modest climbs, a flat stage and a time trial - his specialty. He dominated both last year.
If Armstrong can avoid mishap in what he says will be his last Tour de France, he will ride along the Champs-Elysees on July 24 as the only cyclist to win the event seven times.
Is Armstrong, at 34 years old, the best he's ever been?
"Yeah, maybe," he said. "Tough to say."
What became evident in the Alps and the Pyrenees this past week, is that he is still the strongest rider in the peloton.
Vinokourov and Ullrich have attacked Armstrong, even isolating him from his teammates at times and leaving him to fight alone.
But Armstrong has withstood the pressure while gradually increasing his lead.
"He is a level above other riders, maybe two levels," Australian cyclist Cadel Evans http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=40680
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