Victory Allows Hamilton To "Forget About The Regret"
“Today has made up for everything,” said Tyler Hamilton about his victory in the 16th stage. “To win a stage of the Tour de France is beyond my wildest dreams. Under the circumstances I’ve done a respectable Tour. After today, I can forget about the regret.” Yes, Hamilton is about as humble as an athlete can be.
Doing anything with a fractured collarbone can be a painful experience. Sleeping on his back instead of his side is something Tyler listed as one of the more frustrating elements of an injury he sustained in a crash at the end of the first stage. “I’m getting a bit sick of it.” The fracture is a nuisance for him but it has hardly hindered his performance.
“I’m feeling stronger now and I can pull on the bars a bit more than I could in the first week,” said the 32-year-old from Marblehead.
Hamilton became the sixth American to win a stage of the Tour de France. He follows the lead set by Greg Lemond, Davis Phinney, Jeff Pierce, Andy Hampsten and his former colleague from the early years of his career the US Postal Service team, Lance Armstrong.
The day featured six categorized climbs. Once the main mountains were finished, eighty kilometers remained. The climbs were cruel. Steep, shrouded in mist and packed with Basque spectators which are ever-present in this part of the world, the Col de Soudet, Cote de Larrau and Col Baraguy may not be as famous as other summits, but they had the potential to alter the overall standings. It would, however, take a strong man with a bold focus to attempt to stay free of a pack of favorites who were back on the bike after a day of rest. Tyler’s no-fuss approach is more akin to the 1996 Tour champion who now directs Team CSC, Bjarne Riis, than it is to the hype which surrounds his friend who wears the yellow jersey.
How are you feeling? It was a typical last-minute question before he mounted his bike in Pau. With a shrug of the shoulders and in the dry, emotion-free tone with which he responds to most questions he gave a simply response. “We’ll see in a few hours.
In Bayonne his impressive resume – which includes a win in the oldest of all one-day Classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which he won at the end of April and the Tour of Romandie that he dominated the very next week – acquired another entry. A stage win in the Tour is, indeed, more than respectable. But the success didn’t change his demeanor at the post-stage press conference. That might have something to do with the fact that he’d been on the attack from the 55km mark of the 197.5km stage. He chased down every escapee, passed them all and by the top of the brutal Bagarguy he was on his own at the front of the stage. It was certainly the stuff which wins fans. But Tyler won’t change. “I don’t think I’m a hero,” he told Gerard Holtz, from France Television who insisted that the victory today helped etch his name into cycling folklore.
“I’m just doing my job. I continued doing this race because I believed I can help the team. The team has given me a lot of opportunities and I and I thought that if I could put the pain behind me, then I could continue. I did the same in the Tour of Italy last year.
Riding with broken bones is part of what Tyler is famous for. His second overall in the 2002 Giro d’Italia was done with a broken shoulder. It is indeed inspirational. It was a ride that prompted Armstrong to offer Hamilton a hug moments after the rider in the yellow jersey crossed the line almost two minutes behind the champion of the day.
“I could see that Lance was genuinely happy for me. And that’s nice. A lot of my success today is because of what I’ve learnt from riding with Lance.” Tyler has everything required to win the Tour. A talent on the climbs and in the time trials. He is committed and focused. The one thing which he now needs to replicate from the Armstrong mould is the ability to avoid accidents (or, at least, serious injury) in the same miraculous style. If he could do that, it’s likely that Tyler would not only forget about the regret of what could have been possible. He might win more than a stage of this race.
S T A G E S T A N D I N G S
Pos.
N°
Name
Nat.
Eq.
Time
1 071 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC in 4h 59' 41"
2 029 ZABEL Erik GER TEL at 01' 55"
3 217 KRIVTSOV Yuriy UKR DEL at 01' 55"
4 116 PAOLINI Luca ITA QSD at 01' 55"
5 056 GLOMSER Gerrit AUT SAE at 01' 55"
6 043 DE GROOT Bram NED RAB at 01' 55"
7 199 ZBERG Marcus SUI GST at 01' 55"
8 091 CASAR Sandy FRA FDJ at 01' 55"
9 136 GUIDI Fabrizio ITA TBI at 01' 55"
10 127 O'GRADY Stuart AUS C.A at 01' 55"
11 097 MENGIN Christophe FRA FDJ at 01' 55"
12 155 FLICKINGER Andy FRA A2R at 01' 55"
13 053 COMMESSO Salvatore ITA SAE at 01' 55"
14 158 PORTAL Nicolas FRA A2R at 01' 55"
15 142 BAGUET Serge BEL LOT at 01' 55"
16 188 RENIER Franck FRA BLB at 01' 55"
17 131 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 01' 55"
18 143 BRANDT Christophe BEL LOT at 01' 55"
19 102 GUTIERREZ José Enrique ESP KEL at 01' 55"
20 072 BLAUDZUN Michaël DEN CSC at 01' 55"
21 151 BROCHARD Laurent FRA A2R at 01' 55"
22 005 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 01' 55"
23 065 LELLI Massimiliano ITA COF at 01' 55"
24 001 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 01' 55"
25 058 SACCHI Fabio ITA SAE at 01' 55"
26 004 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 01' 55"
27 201 DUFAUX Laurent SUI ALS at 01' 55"
28 111 BETTINI Paolo ITA QSD at 01' 55"
29 207 MIHOLJEVIC Vladimir CRO ALS at 01' 55"
30 182 BENETEAU Walter FRA BLB at 01' 55"
31 081 BASSO Ivan ITA FAS at 01' 55"
32 066 MONCOUTIE David FRA COF at 01' 55"
33 179 ZUBELDIA Haimar ESP EUS at 01' 55"
34 121 MOREAU Christophe FRA C.A at 01' 55"
35 078 SASTRE Carlos ESP CSC at 01' 55"
36 003 BELTRAN Manuel ESP USP at 01' 55"
37 171 MAYO Iban ESP EUS at 01' 55"
38 153 BOTCHAROV Alexandre RUS A2R at 01' 55"
39 198 TOTSCHNIG Georg AUT GST at 01' 55"
40 031 MANCEBO Francisco ESP BAN at 01' 55"
41 181 ROUS Didier FRA BLB at 01' 55"
42 057 LUDEWIG Jorg GER SAE at 01' 55"
43 075 LÜTTENBERGER Peter AUT CSC at 01' 55"
44 107 PASCUAL LLORENTE Javier ESP KEL at 01' 55"
45 183 CHAVANEL Sylvain FRA BLB at 01' 55"
46 016 NOZAL Isidro ESP ONE at 01' 55"
47 134 GARCIA CASAS Félix ESP TBI at 01' 55"
48 135 GARMENDIA Aitor ESP TBI at 01' 55"
49 154 CHAURREAU Inigo ESP A2R at 01' 55"
50 028 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ TEL at 01' 55"
51 047 NIERMANN Grischa GER RAB at 01' 55"
52 068 TRENTIN Guido ITA COF at 01' 55"
53 027 NARDELLO Daniele ITA TEL at 01' 55"
54 006 LANDIS Floyd USA USP at 01' 55"
55 192 BÖLTS Udo GER GST at 01' 55"
56 079 SORENSEN Nicki DEN CSC at 01' 55"
57 114 CANADA David ESP QSD at 01' 55"
58 009 RUBIERA José Luis ESP USP at 01' 55"
59 119 VIRENQUE Richard FRA QSD at 01' 55"
60 042 BOOGERD Michael NED RAB at 01' 55"
61 008 PENA Victor Hugo COL USP at 01' 55"
62 015 JAKSCHE Jorg GER ONE at 01' 55"
63 048 WAUTERS Marc BEL RAB at 01' 55"
64 211 HALGAND Patrice FRA DEL at 01' 55"
65 013 AZEVEDO José POR ONE at 01' 55"
66 118 VAN DE WOUWER Kurt BEL QSD at 01' 55"
67 152 ASTARLOZA Mikel ESP A2R at 01' 55"
68 106 PARRA Ivan COL KEL at 01' 55"
69 103 LATASA David ESP KEL at 01' 55"
70 036 MENCHOV Denis RUS BAN at 01' 55"
71 209 PELLIZOTTI Franco ITA ALS at 01' 55"
72 138 PLAZA David ESP TBI at 01' 55"
73 082 BRUSEGHIN Marzio ITA FAS at 01' 55"
74 216 GOUBERT Stephane FRA DEL at 01' 55"
75 133 CASERO Angel ESP TBI at 02' 07"
76 083 CIONI Dario ITA FAS at 02' 10"
77 002 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 02' 10"
78 039 ZANDIO Xabier ESP BAN at 02' 10"
79 175 LAISEKA Roberto ESP EUS at 02' 10"
80 159 TURPIN Ludovic FRA A2R at 02' 10"
81 032 FLECHA Juan Antonio ESP BAN at 02' 10"
82 055 FORNACIARI Paolo ITA SAE at 02' 17"
83 208 NOE Andrea ITA ALS at 02' 17"
84 073 JALABERT Nicolas FRA CSC at 02' 25"
85 076 PERON Andrea ITA CSC at 02' 25"
86 024 GUERINI Giuseppe ITA TEL at 02' 28"
87 021 BOTERO Santiago COL TEL at 02' 37"
88 025 KESSLER Matthias GER TEL at 02' 37"
89 117 ROGERS Michael AUS QSD at 02' 38"
90 022 AERTS Mario BEL TEL at 02' 43"
91 172 ARTETXE Mikel ESP EUS at 04' 10"
92 044 FREIRE Oscar ESP RAB at 18' 53"
93 194 PESCHEL Uwe GER GST at 18' 53"
94 112 BODROGI Laszlo HUN QSD at 18' 53"
95 062 CLAIN Médéric FRA COF at 18' 53"
96 147 MOERENHOUT Koos NED LOT at 18' 53"
97 014 GONZALEZ GALDEANO Alvaro ESP ONE at 18' 53"
98 218 LEFEVRE Laurent FRA DEL at 18' 53"
99 157 ORIOL Christophe FRA A2R at 18' 53"
100 023 ALDAG Rolf GER TEL at 18' 53"
101 184 GESLIN Anthony FRA BLB at 18' 53"
102 038 PETROV Evgeni RUS BAN at 18' 53"
103 177 LOPEZ MUNAIN Alberto ESP EUS at 18' 53"
104 035 LASTRAS Pablo ESP BAN at 18' 53"
105 018 SERRANO Marcos ESP ONE at 18' 53"
106 187 PINEAU Jérôme FRA BLB at 18' 53"
107 012 ANDRLE René CZE ONE at 18' 53"
108 007 PADRNOS Pavel CZE USP at 18' 53"
109 037 MERCADO Juan Miguel ESP BAN at 18' 53"
110 168 VAINSTEINS Romans LAT CAL at 18' 53"
111 213 DUMOULIN Samuel FRA DEL at 28' 38"
112 063 CUESTA Inigo ESP COF at 28' 38"
113 017 PRADERA Mikel ESP ONE at 28' 38"
114 137 LIESE Thomas GER TBI at 28' 38"
115 176 LANDALUZE Inigo ESP EUS at 28' 38"
116 215 FINOT Frédéric FRA DEL at 28' 38"
117 169 ZAMPIERI Steve SUI CAL at 28' 38"
118 069 VASSEUR Cédric FRA COF at 28' 38"
119 124 HINAULT Sébastien FRA C.A at 32' 20"
120 203 BERTOLINI Alessandro ITA ALS at 32' 20"
121 115 KNAVEN Servais NED QSD at 32' 20"
122 141 MC EWEN Robbie AUS LOT at 32' 20"
123 064 GAUMONT Philippe FRA COF at 32' 20"
124 033 GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente ESP BAN at 32' 20"
125 077 PIIL Jakob DEN CSC at 32' 20"
126 214 EDALEINE Christophe FRA DEL at 32' 20"
127 144 DE CLERCQ Hans BEL LOT at 32' 20"
128 148 VAN BON Leon NED LOT at 32' 20"
129 163 BOSSONI Paolo ITA CAL at 32' 20"
130 128 POILVET Benoit FRA C.A at 32' 20"
131 096 MC GEE Bradley AUS FDJ at 32' 20"
132 093 COOKE Baden AUS FDJ at 32' 20"
133 095 FRITSCH Nicolas FRA FDJ at 32' 20"
134 125 HUSHOVD Thor NOR C.A at 32' 20"
135 113 BRAMATI Davide ITA QSD at 32' 20"
136 162 ANDRIOTTO Dario ITA CAL at 32' 20"
137 034 KARPETS Vladimir RUS BAN at 32' 20"
138 094 DA CRUZ Carlos FRA FDJ at 32' 20"
139 074 CHRISTENSEN Bekim DEN CSC at 32' 20"
140 051 SIMONI Gilberto ITA SAE at 32' 20"
141 109 USANO Julian ESP KEL at 32' 20"
142 098 VOGONDY Nicolas FRA FDJ at 32' 20"
143 105 MUNOZ David ESP KEL at 32' 20"
144 185 HARY Maryan FRA BLB at 32' 20"
145 061 MILLAR David GBR COF at 32' 20"
146 189 VOECKLER Thomas FRA BLB at 32' 20"
147 186 NAZON Damien FRA BLB at 32' 49"
148 219 NAZON Jean-Patrick FRA DEL at 32' 49"
149 132 BECKE Daniel GER TBI at 45' 48"
145 GATES Nick AUS LOT Abandon
049 WIELINGA Remmert NED RAB Abandon
O V E R A L L S T A N D I N G S
Pos.
N°
Name
Nat.
Eq.
Time
1 001 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP in 70h 37' 59"
2 131 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 01' 07"
3 028 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ TEL at 02' 45"
4 179 ZUBELDIA Haimar ESP EUS at 05' 16"
5 171 MAYO Iban ESP EUS at 05' 25"
6 071 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC at 06' 35"
7 081 BASSO Ivan ITA FAS at 08' 08"
8 121 MOREAU Christophe FRA C.A at 11' 12"
9 031 MANCEBO Francisco ESP BAN at 16' 05"
10 078 SASTRE Carlos ESP CSC at 16' 12"
11 036 MENCHOV Denis RUS BAN at 17' 09"
12 198 TOTSCHNIG Georg AUT GST at 18' 52"
13 003 BELTRAN Manuel ESP USP at 19' 34"
14 119 VIRENQUE Richard FRA QSD at 22' 00"
15 175 LAISEKA Roberto ESP EUS at 24' 34"
16 015 JAKSCHE Jorg GER ONE at 24' 59"
17 181 ROUS Didier FRA BLB at 26' 50"
18 075 LÜTTENBERGER Peter AUT CSC at 26' 52"
19 009 RUBIERA José Luis ESP USP at 27' 29"
20 201 DUFAUX Laurent SUI ALS at 28' 57"
21 138 PLAZA David ESP TBI at 40' 57"
22 134 GARCIA CASAS Félix ESP TBI at 42' 48"
23 153 BOTCHAROV Alexandre RUS A2R at 45' 34"
24 065 LELLI Massimiliano ITA COF at 45' 48"
25 013 AZEVEDO José POR ONE at 49' 32"
26 047 NIERMANN Grischa GER RAB at 58' 29"
27 152 ASTARLOZA Mikel ESP A2R at 59' 42"
28 216 GOUBERT Stephane FRA DEL at 1h 00' 50"
29 154 CHAURREAU Inigo ESP A2R at 1h 01' 17"
30 042 BOOGERD Michael NED RAB at 1h 04' 14"
31 151 BROCHARD Laurent FRA A2R at 1h 07' 28"
32 002 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 1h 08' 13"
33 024 GUERINI Giuseppe ITA TEL at 1h 12' 34"
34 027 NARDELLO Daniele ITA TEL at 1h 14' 19"
35 107 PASCUAL LLORENTE Javier ESP KEL at 1h 15' 40"
36 037 MERCADO Juan Miguel ESP BAN at 1h 17' 47"
37 057 LUDEWIG Jorg GER SAE at 1h 21' 52"
38 183 CHAVANEL Sylvain FRA BLB at 1h 24' 16"
39 211 HALGAND Patrice FRA DEL at 1h 25' 33"
40 102 GUTIERREZ José Enrique ESP KEL at 1h 32' 52"
41 066 MONCOUTIE David FRA COF at 1h 34' 03"
42 117 ROGERS Michael AUS QSD at 1h 36' 15"
43 079 SORENSEN Nicki DEN CSC at 1h 37' 54"
44 072 BLAUDZUN Michaël DEN CSC at 1h 39' 25"
45 025 KESSLER Matthias GER TEL at 1h 41' 32"
46 111 BETTINI Paolo ITA QSD at 1h 42' 53"
47 005 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 1h 43' 15"
48 106 PARRA Ivan COL KEL at 1h 45' 19"
49 039 ZANDIO Xabier ESP BAN at 1h 45' 41"
50 155 FLICKINGER Andy FRA A2R at 1h 49' 23"
51 038 PETROV Evgeni RUS BAN at 1h 50' 23"
52 133 CASERO Angel ESP TBI at 1h 54' 21"
53 061 MILLAR David GBR COF at 1h 55' 05"
54 058 SACCHI Fabio ITA SAE at 1h 57' 22"
55 182 BENETEAU Walter FRA BLB at 1h 57' 29"
56 068 TRENTIN Guido ITA COF at 1h 57' 48"
57 192 BÖLTS Udo GER GST at 1h 57' 51"
58 056 GLOMSER Gerrit AUT SAE at 1h 59' 06"
59 118 VAN DE WOUWER Kurt BEL QSD at 2h 00' 17"
60 218 LEFEVRE Laurent FRA DEL at 2h 02' 05"
61 018 SERRANO Marcos ESP ONE at 2h 03' 11"
62 082 BRUSEGHIN Marzio ITA FAS at 2h 04' 46"
63 135 GARMENDIA Aitor ESP TBI at 2h 06' 02"
64 207 MIHOLJEVIC Vladimir CRO ALS at 2h 07' 05"
65 116 PAOLINI Luca ITA QSD at 2h 07' 35"
66 187 PINEAU Jérôme FRA BLB at 2h 08' 50"
67 016 NOZAL Isidro ESP ONE at 2h 08' 56"
68 143 BRANDT Christophe BEL LOT at 2h 09' 27"
69 103 LATASA David ESP KEL at 2h 10' 10"
70 021 BOTERO Santiago COL TEL at 2h 11' 50"
71 208 NOE Andrea ITA ALS at 2h 15' 09"
72 076 PERON Andrea ITA CSC at 2h 15' 23"
73 114 CANADA David ESP QSD at 2h 16' 05"
74 209 PELLIZOTTI Franco ITA ALS at 2h 17' 17"
75 006 LANDIS Floyd USA USP at 2h 20' 04"
76 017 PRADERA Mikel ESP ONE at 2h 20' 15"
77 004 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 2h 21' 09"
78 095 FRITSCH Nicolas FRA FDJ at 2h 22' 45"
79 035 LASTRAS Pablo ESP BAN at 2h 26' 49"
80 172 ARTETXE Mikel ESP EUS at 2h 29' 48"
81 051 SIMONI Gilberto ITA SAE at 2h 30' 27"
82 012 ANDRLE René CZE ONE at 2h 31' 50"
83 158 PORTAL Nicolas FRA A2R at 2h 32' 14"
84 142 BAGUET Serge BEL LOT at 2h 33' 39"
85 217 KRIVTSOV Yuriy UKR DEL at 2h 33' 55"
86 169 ZAMPIERI Steve SUI CAL at 2h 35' 30"
87 022 AERTS Mario BEL TEL at 2h 36' 31"
88 053 COMMESSO Salvatore ITA SAE at 2h 38' 11"
89 008 PENA Victor Hugo COL USP at 2h 40' 01"
90 127 O'GRADY Stuart AUS C.A at 2h 40' 13"
91 159 TURPIN Ludovic FRA A2R at 2h 40' 22"
92 199 ZBERG Marcus SUI GST at 2h 42' 19"
93 023 ALDAG Rolf GER TEL at 2h 45' 28"
94 188 RENIER Franck FRA BLB at 2h 45' 45"
95 177 LOPEZ MUNAIN Alberto ESP EUS at 2h 47' 15"
96 044 FREIRE Oscar ESP RAB at 2h 47' 28"
97 069 VASSEUR Cédric FRA COF at 2h 48' 41"
98 083 CIONI Dario ITA FAS at 2h 52' 11"
99 034 KARPETS Vladimir RUS BAN at 2h 54' 23"
100 176 LANDALUZE Inigo ESP EUS at 2h 58' 03"
101 043 DE GROOT Bram NED RAB at 3h 02' 31"
102 007 PADRNOS Pavel CZE USP at 3h 02' 33"
103 032 FLECHA Juan Antonio ESP BAN at 3h 06' 14"
104 029 ZABEL Erik GER TEL at 3h 07' 41"
105 073 JALABERT Nicolas FRA CSC at 3h 08' 18"
106 094 DA CRUZ Carlos FRA FDJ at 3h 08' 57"
107 128 POILVET Benoit FRA C.A at 3h 09' 30"
108 062 CLAIN Médéric FRA COF at 3h 12' 02"
109 112 BODROGI Laszlo HUN QSD at 3h 12' 06"
110 091 CASAR Sandy FRA FDJ at 3h 15' 39"
111 184 GESLIN Anthony FRA BLB at 3h 16' 27"
112 097 MENGIN Christophe FRA FDJ at 3h 17' 44"
113 077 PIIL Jakob DEN CSC at 3h 17' 51"
114 168 VAINSTEINS Romans LAT CAL at 3h 18' 55"
115 098 VOGONDY Nicolas FRA FDJ at 3h 19' 55"
116 048 WAUTERS Marc BEL RAB at 3h 19' 58"
117 157 ORIOL Christophe FRA A2R at 3h 23' 01"
118 125 HUSHOVD Thor NOR C.A at 3h 23' 31"
119 074 CHRISTENSEN Bekim DEN CSC at 3h 24' 29"
120 136 GUIDI Fabrizio ITA TBI at 3h 27' 01"
121 014 GONZALEZ GALDEANO Alvaro ESP ONE at 3h 28' 04"
122 147 MOERENHOUT Koos NED LOT at 3h 30' 25"
123 064 GAUMONT Philippe FRA COF at 3h 30' 51"
124 063 CUESTA Inigo ESP COF at 3h 31' 02"
125 194 PESCHEL Uwe GER GST at 3h 32' 20"
126 186 NAZON Damien FRA BLB at 3h 35' 11"
127 185 HARY Maryan FRA BLB at 3h 36' 05"
128 033 GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente ESP BAN at 3h 36' 37"
129 115 KNAVEN Servais NED QSD at 3h 38' 14"
130 055 FORNACIARI Paolo ITA SAE at 3h 39' 08"
131 214 EDALEINE Christophe FRA DEL at 3h 40' 27"
132 189 VOECKLER Thomas FRA BLB at 3h 46' 28"
133 219 NAZON Jean-Patrick FRA DEL at 3h 49' 25"
134 096 MC GEE Bradley AUS FDJ at 3h 49' 52"
135 215 FINOT Frédéric FRA DEL at 3h 51' 38"
136 124 HINAULT Sébastien FRA C.A at 3h 51' 42"
137 137 LIESE Thomas GER TBI at 3h 52' 12"
138 113 BRAMATI Davide ITA QSD at 3h 53' 02"
139 148 VAN BON Leon NED LOT at 3h 54' 07"
140 093 COOKE Baden AUS FDJ at 3h 56' 02"
141 163 BOSSONI Paolo ITA CAL at 3h 56' 39"
142 213 DUMOULIN Samuel FRA DEL at 3h 56' 49"
143 109 USANO Julian ESP KEL at 3h 57' 10"
144 105 MUNOZ David ESP KEL at 3h 57' 12"
145 141 MC EWEN Robbie AUS LOT at 4h 06' 57"
146 162 ANDRIOTTO Dario ITA CAL at 4h 08' 13"
147 132 BECKE Daniel GER TBI at 4h 16' 50"
148 203 BERTOLINI Alessandro ITA ALS at 4h 19' 34"