SEDAN, France: Italian rider Filippo Simeoni said he is to take four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to court for alleged defamation over remarks in the French newspaper Le Monde.

"My dignity has been offended. I want a public apology. He (Armstrong) can't say what he wants and not be punished," Simeoni said on Monday.

In an interview published in April, Armstrong verbally attacked Simeoni after the Italian rider had given evidence in the continuing doping trial of sports doctor Michele Ferrari.

Simeoni, 31, said proceedings had to be instigated before July 14. The Italian, a professional since 1995, won a stage of the Tour of Spain in 2001.

Armstrong is in 10th place after the second stage of the Tour de France, which began on Saturday. Simeoni's Domina Vacanze team was not given a wild-card invite by Tour organizers.

Baden Cooke outsprinted the rest of the Tour bunch to win the 204.5-kilometre second stage from La Ferte-sous-Jouarre to Sedan and give Australia their second victory on Sunday.

Cooke's FDJeux.com teammate and compatriot Bradley McGee had won the prologue on Saturday and he kept his overall leader's yellow jersey.

Cooke beat France's Jean-Patrick Nazon and Estonia's Jan Kirsipuu on the finish line.

Armstrong finished in the main bunch in the same time as Cooke.

France's Frederic Finot broke away for nearly 200 kilometres before being caught 2.5 kilometres before the finish line.

The stage ended in a massive sprint for the second day in succession but this time was not marred by a crash.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 07/09/2003 page8)