L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France: Four-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong donned the yellow jersey for the first time this year on Sunday, but said he had suffered and his team had made mistakes during the eighth stage.

Armstrong took over as race leader following a third-place finish on the 219-km stage won by Spaniard Iban Mayo, but lacked his usual domination as he was sorely tested by his rivals.

"I don't know but perhaps I'm not as strong as the other years," said the 31-year-old American.

"Every year is different. I had some issues at the start of this race which were not ideal," said Armstrong, who suffered from gastro-enteritis before the Tour.

"But if you had told me I would suffer like this in l'Alpe d'Huez, I would have said 'No way'," he added.

On the 21 turns of the arduous final climb, the Texan was forced to control his rivals, unlike the previous four years, when he had always attacked and humbled the opposition on his way to victory.

For the US Postal team leader, a record-equalling fifth victory could well be the hardest to earn.

"It was no bluff today. It was a hard day, with a lot of attacks. I did not have the best sensations, the best legs, and it was no bluffing," he said.

"The tactics were interesting. The others were on me instead of controlling the other riders. It's my job to control the attacks," he said.

"I did not feel too well in the Galibier (climb) and from that point, it was my decision to ride a conservative race. I decided to let Mayo go and to control (Spaniard Joseba) Beloki," he said.

Tactical errors

He complained his leading rivals, like Beloki, who was second last year, did not chase Mayo when the Euskaltel team leader made his decisive move.

"If Mayo does that everyday, he's going to pass them," Armstrong said.

The American said his team had made tactical mistakes during the stage. Usually, the Texan launches his US Postal "blue train" in the first metres of a climb to try and drop his rivals.

But Spanish team-mate Manuel Beltran tackled l'Alpe d'Huez at such a pace that he even dropped other US Postal riders.

"Beltran is new to the team and he's not used to our system. A fast tempo is alright but this was supersonic," Armstrong said.

As a result, the American found himself out on his own sooner than expected and had to do all the hard work when Beloki or fellow-American Tyler Hamilton threatened him.

Armstrong was at least happy to have dropped some of the pre-Tour favourites.

Giro winner Gilberto Simoni and Vuelta champion Aitor Gonzalez had both claimed they would mount a challenge.

"Simoni has now realized that the Giro is not the Tour. Gonzalez has now realized that the Vuelta is not the Tour. They could both be a factor in this race - but not this year," he said.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 07/15/2003 page8)