Lance Armstrong survived his biggest scare since winning his first Tour de France in 1999 when his leading rival, Spaniard Joseba Beloki, crashed in front of him near the end of the 184.5-km ninth stage to Gap.

The American's bid to win a record-equalling fifth Tour was nearly ruined when Beloki, runner-up last year and second in this year's race, lost control after his tyre blew on the melted tarmac surface.

Armstrong was forced to swerve past the stricken ONCE team leader and into a dusty field before crossing a ditch and rejoining the race.

Beloki, in obvious distress, was helped by team mates before being taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Tour doctors later confirmed that he had broken his right leg near the hip and also sustained wrist and elbow fractures.

"I had never been that scared. Real panic. In a moment like that, it's only a reflex of survival," said the Texan.

The American, who survived a near-fatal cancer to win the first of his four Tours in 1999, kept his overall lead after taking the yellow jersey in l'Alpe d'Huez on Sunday.

But Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov, who won the stage in Gap after breaking away on the last of the day's four climbs, the La Rochette hill, is now hot on his heels.

Vinokourov, winner of the Tour of Switzerland, is now only 21 seconds behind Armstrong going into Tuesday's 219-km 10th stage to Marseille.

"It's really magnificent. It's my fourth Tour and I really wanted to win a stage. That day has come and I'm very happy," said the Kazakh, a former winner of the Dauphine Libere and Dunkirk Four Days.

AGGRESSIVE TACTICS

Beloki, who said after Sunday's stage that he would keep attacking Armstrong all the way to Paris, paid dearly for his aggressive tactics.

He tested the Texan on the last two climbs of the day, the St Apollinaire and La Rochette and was leading a furious chase to catch Vinokourov.

When his tyre blew up, there was nothing the 29-year-old Spaniard, who finished on the podium in his three Tours, could do to stay on his bike.

"The road was in a very bad state because of the heat and it was not safe to go down at that pace," Armstrong said.

"His tyre exploded and it was impossible for him to stay on his bike. I had to do a little bit of cyclo-cross in the field but I had the scare of my life," he added.

The crash was all the more upsetting for Beloki as he had once again looked the main threat to the American.

When Vinokourov made his move on the La Rochette climb, he took the chase in hand with Armstrong behind him, hoping to bridge the gap.

As it was Vinokourov won his first Tour stage in just over five hours, with a 36-second lead over Italian champion Paolo Bettini and Spaniard Iban Mayo, winner in l'Alpe d'Huez on Sunday. Armstrong sprinted to finish fourth in the same time.

Earlier on the stage Spaniard Aitor Garmendia took the day's big climb, the 2,360-metre ascent of the Col d'Izoard before Jorg Jaksche briefly threatened Armstrong's overall lead.

The German, 10th before the day's stage, three minutes and 19 seconds behind Armstrong, was part of a small escape group that built up a six-minute lead on the peloton.

(Reporting by Francois Thomazeau; Editing by Martyn Herman; Reuters messaging: francois.thomazeau.reuters.com@reuters.net) REUTERS 1652 140703 GMT 2003-07-15 00:53:38 2003-07-15 00:55:45 3760 NNNN r04f0042.715 REU7319 3 SPO 299 ( RBN AFA CSA LBY REULB RSP RWSA RNA SPR RNP DNP PSP US CYCL FR WEU EUROPE ES ) 4754285 SPORT-CYCLING-TOUR-ARMSTRONG Cycling-'Farmer' Armstrong feels sorry for Beloki

By Stephen Farrand

GAP, France, July 14 (Reuters) Lance Armstrong said he felt like a French farmer after taking evasive action to avoid the unfortunate Joseba Beloki during the ninth stage of the Tour de France to Gap on Monday.

The American race leader, going for a record-equalling fifth Tour victory, was right behind Beloki when the Spaniard lost control on a fast descent and fell heavily, breaking his right femur, wrist and elbow.

"It was dramatic for me watching from the bike," Armstrong said. "You can't train for that, it's just a natural reaction.

"When you see something happening like that the first thing you do is ask yourself 'Ok, where do I go?' I couldn't go right and I couldn't go over him, so I could only go left and into the field.

"Then I just kept going and got back on the road as quickly as I could. When I was riding through the field I felt like a farmer ploughing."

Beloki was in great form and looked like being a real threat to Armstrong's bid for a fifth victory, and the Texan was full of sympathy for his rival.

"I'm really sorry for Beloki. He was riding aggressively and was in the race," Armstrong said. "When he crashed we were trying to bring (Alexander) Vinokourov back and the time gap was going down.

"It was only 10 seconds and he was going flat out on the descent. You hate to see a guy go down like that while he's doing his best."

With Beloki recovering in hospital, Armstrong admitted that Kazakh Vinokourov is now one to watch.

"Beloki has gone but now there's Vinokourov -- a new rival always comes along," Armstrong said. "Before the race I didn't think Vino was a contender but after his aggressive riding in the last two days, he's becoming a rival."

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