Tour: Pereiro Attacks, Landis Cracks!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006
One day after claiming the Yellow Jersey on the slopes of the famed L'Alpe d'Huez, American rider Floyd Landis cracked on the slopes of another big mountain stage, and probably watched his chances of winning the Tour de' France disappear. Meanwhile, Oscar Pereiro, who many had written off coming out of the Pyrenees reclaimed the lead, with one more tough mountain stage to go. At one point in the tour, Pereiro was more than 30 minutes back of the leaders, so if he holds on to win on Sunday, it'll be one of the greatest comebacks in Tour history. Landis, who started the day with a 10 second lead over Pereiro, now stands more than 8 minutes back, in 11th place. Mickael Rasmussen was the overall winner of the stage, and probably cemented his second straight polka dot jersey.