This picture is directly from the Team Radioshack Website . Lance steps on the pedal in today's Stage 16th. After his wrecks in an earlier stage Lance had fallen to 40 minutes behind Alberto Contador who still maintains the yellow jersey. Today Lance Armstrong pulled out to a 9 minute lead to finish in a group 7 minutes ahead of the Peloton. Chris Horner from Team Radioshack was the big gainer for today pulling just under 9 minutes from the lead. Levi Leipheimer is just over 5 minutes behind Contador. Even if Lance decides to continue to escape from over the next 3 stages and even potentially gaining another 7 minutes on the leaders that would only bring him 21 minutes. Today he is 33 minutes behind Contador. The winner is usually decided on Stage 19, and Stage 20 is the Parade stage down to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It is still conceivable to have the United States win, and even simply Team Radioshack bring home the Maillot Jaune. I honestly would not care about protocol if Team Radioshack escaped from the Peloton in Stage 20 and crossed over the finish line first, enough time someone on that team could win, especially if there some inclusive breaks and attacks in these next few stages that include any of the Team Radioshack members. The question for Lance is, did you wait too long to turn on the afterburners?
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