Ah, Hincapie, I knew him when...

Armstrong fifth in Dauphine Libere prologue

By JEROME PUGMIRE, AP Sports Writer

June 5, 2005

AIX-LES-BAINS, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong finished fifth Sunday in the prologue of the Dauphine Libere, a tuneup race leading to his bid next month for a seventh straight Tour de France title.

George Hincapie, a U.S. cyclist who rides for Armstrong's Discovery Channel team, won the stage in 9 minutes, 55 seconds. Americans took four of the top five spots in the 4.9-mile sprint, with Levi Leipheimer second, followed by Andrey Kashechkin of Kazakhstan, Floyd Landis and Armstrong.

``I'm not really specialized in prologue any more,'' said Armstrong, who is planning to retire from cycling after the Tour de France. ``Today I was conservative in the climb, and then there was a lot of headwind in the finish. But that's OK.''

Hincapie was a second ahead of Leipheimer and three ahead of Kashechkin. Landis was timed in 10 minutes and Armstrong in 10:01.

``That's the first time I've beaten Lance in a time trial,'' Hincapie said. ``It's very special for me.''

Armstrong might have had a faster time but his foot slipped from the pedal straps during a 1.2-mile climb. The 33-year-old Texan, second in last year's prologue at the Tour de France, feels he can no longer match quicker riders over limited distances.

``It's a short explosive effort and when you get old, you know what happens,'' he said. ``In the last few years I didn't do good prologues. The prologue of the last Tour was an exception. I had a super day that day.''

He praised Hincapie as a versatile rider.

``It was a good course for him with a hard climb, tricky downhill,'' Armstrong said. ``He's very good in the bike, very fast on the downhill.''

Two riders -- Isidro Nozal of the Liberty Seguros and Michele Scotto d'Abusco of Lampre-Caffita -- were banned from the race after failing blood tests. Nozal finished in seventh place at the Spanish Vuelta last September and 73rd at the Tour de France.

Monday's first stage is a mostly flat 139-mile route from Aix-les-Bains to Givors. Later in the week, there will be testing mountain ascents, including the revered Mont Ventoux on Thursday.

Climbing is traditionally one of Armstrong's strong points. His rivals most likely will have a good indication of his form after Mont Ventoux.

``I have a lot of respect and fear for that mountain,'' Armstrong said. ``I better keep it like that.''

Updated on Sunday, Jun 5, 2005 2:21 pm EDT