I could say Lance wanted to win today’s stage for the 20-second time bonus, but I’d be lying if I did. He sprinted to win Stage 17 because he’s a fierce competitor and he saw an opportunity to cross the finish line first. He won today because he could, and this time the 20-second bonus is just a nice perk.

While Lance won the stage, Floyd Landis had the biggest impact on the stage results. As the lead group hit the base of the final category 1 climb of the 2004 Tour, we expected to see attacks from the T-Mobile riders, Jan Ullrich and Andreas Kloden. We also expected Levi Leipheimer and other men in the lower half of the top ten to be aggressive in their attempts to move up the general classification. Floyd Landis just sat on the front of the steadily dwindling lead group and set a furious pace that made it nearly impossible for anyone to attack at all.

Instead of attacking off the front of the lead group, riders were coming off the back like sparks off a Roman candle. Ivan Basso’s teammate, Carlos Sastre, managed to get off the front for a little while, but once he was caught he went out the back quickly. Isolated, Basso was at serious risk but Landis kept the pace so high that neither the Italian or the two Germans had the ability to attack.

This was not a case of US Postal Service working to help Basso retain his second place position in the general classification. Rather, staying at the head of the lead group and keeping those riders together was in Lance’s best interest. With two riders in a group of five, the US Postal Service had a good chance of another stage win. More important, in the Tour de France you can never let your guard down, sit back, and let the riders in second, third, and fourth behind you just ride away.

Lance Armstrong has complete confidence in Landis’ strength and his descending abilities. An elite mountain bike racer before he made the switch to road racing, Landis has great technical skills on the bike and can go downhill like a rocket. From the summit of the Col de al Croix-Fry, it was about 13 kilometers downhill to the finish, and Armstrong told Landis to let it all hang out and go get a stage win. For a little while it looked promising, but the other men in the breakaway weren’t going to let Floyd steal their thunder and reeled him in.

That could have been it for US Postal Service today. They had accomplished the objectives for the day, in that they successfully defended the yellow jersey and kept Lance in the lead group. Floyd and Lance could rightfully have sat at the back of the group and just rolled across the finish; but that’s not the way US Postal Service, and certainly Lance Armstrong, races. Kloden jumped for the line and established a gap. It looked like he had the power to win the stage, take the time bonus, and move within one minute of Ivan Basso in the general classification. As the line approached, the German champion started to slow, and realizing he still had power to give, Armstrong seized the opportunity and won his third stage in as many days. It wasn’t for the time bonus, nor was it an effort to help Basso retain his margin over Kloden. Lance saw a way to get to the finish line first, and the competitor within him always wants to win.