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2003 Tour De France The Tour de France of 2003 started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,350 km, proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages. In the centenary year of the race the route recreated, in part, that of 1903. There was a special Centenaire Classement prize for the best-placed in each of the six stage finishes which match the 1903 tour - Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes and Paris. It was won by Stuart O'Grady. Of the 198 riders the favorite was again Lance Armstrong, aiming for a record equalling fifth win. Before the race, it was believed that his main rivals would include Iban Mayo, Aitor Gonzalez, Tyler Hamilton, Ivan Basso, Gilberto Simoni and Jan Ullrich, but Armstrong was odds-on favorite. The Tour proved to be one more hotly contested than the previous years, but in the end it was indeed Armstrong who won. Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer were involved in a crash early in the Tour. Leipheimer dropped out, Hamilton continued and got fourth place in the end while riding with what was believed to be a broken collarbone. In the Alps, Gilberto Simoni and Stefano Garzelli, first and second in the Giro d'Italia earlier the same year, could not keep up with Lance Armstrong and the other favorites. The same held for last year's number 4, Santiago Botero. Joseba Beloki could, but then crashed and had to leave the Tour. Armstrong was in yellow, but Jan Ullrich won the first time trial, one minute ahead of Armstrong, and Alexandre Vinokourov and he were both within very short distance from Armstrong. Armstrong did however withstand the attacks in the end, and took his fifth Tour de France in row, thereby equalling the record of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurin. Before him, only Indurin had won in five consecutive years. Results General classification: 1. Lance Armstrong 83:41:12 2. Jan Ullrich +01:01 3. Alexandre Vinokourov +04:14 4. Tyler Hamilton +06:17 5. Haimar Zubeldia +06:51 6. Iban Mayo +07:06 7. Ivan Basso +10:12 8. Christophe Moreau +12:28 9. Carlos Sastre +18:49 10. Francisco Mancebo +19:15 Points classification: 1. Baden Cooke 216 2. Robbie McEwen 214 3. Erik Zabel 188 4. Thor Hushovd 173 5. Luca Paolini 156 Mountains classification: 1. Richard Virenque 324 2. Laurent Dufaux 187 3. Lance Armstrong 168 4. Christophe Moreau 137 5. Juan Miguel Mercado 136 Team classification: 1. CSC 248:18:18 2. Ibanesto.com +0:21:46 3. Euskaltel-Euskadi +0:44:59 4. US Postal-Berry Floor +0:45:53 5. Bianchi +1:12:40 Combativity: Alexandre Vinokourov Youth classification: 1. Denis Menchov (Russia) 84:00:56 2. Mikel Astarloza (Spain) +42:29 3. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp.) +1:02:48 4. Sylvain Chavanel (France) +1:05:17 5. Andy Flickinger (France) +1:09:09 Centenaire classification: 1. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) 2. Thor Hushovd (Norway) 3. Fabrizio Guidi (Italy) 4. Luca Paolini (Italy) 5. Gerrit Glomser (Austria) Individual Stage winners: Prologue: Brad McGee Stage 1: Alessandro Petacchi Stage 2: Baden Cooke Stage 3: Alessandro Petacchi Stage 4: US Postal Service Stage 5: Alessandro Petacchi Stage 6: Alessandro Petacchi Stage 7: Richard Virenque Stage 8: Iban Mayo Stage 9: Alexandre Vinokourov Stage 10: Jakob Piil Stage 11: Juan Antonio Flecha Stage 12: Jan Ullrich Stage 13: Carlos Sastre Stage 14: Gilberto Simoni Stage 15: Lance Armstrong Stage 16: Tyler Hamilton Stage 17: Servais Knaven Stage 18: Pablo Lastras Stage 19: David Millar Stage 20: Jean-Patrick Nazon External link Tour de France
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