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| |  Tuesday, 31 July, 2001, 16:17 GMT 17:17 UK Clash of the Titans BBC Sport Online puts Lance Armstrong, the winner of the 2001 Tour de France, head-to-head against Miguel Indurain, one of the great masters of the event. The categories: | Tour achievements | All-round talents | Style | Preparation | Time trials | Mountains | Attitude | Conclusion Lance Armstrong's third successive Tour de France victory has put him alongside the event's great cyclists. The American is only the fifth man to win a hat-trick of Tours. But four men have five to their name, and at the top of that list is Miguel Indurain. "Big Mig" and Armstrong were 27 when they won their first Tour and each set standards for their peloton peers.
Many suspect that Indurain rode into the record books without sustained opposition. Each victory came against a different runner-up - riders like Claudio Chiappucci, Gianni Bugno and Tony Rominger. But the inescapable fact remains that Indurain recorded the greatest feat in the history of the Tour. Armstrong has arguably faced better riders but records are records and the Spaniard has set the standard here. Miguel Indurain - 10
But in 1993 Armstrong was the youngest world road race champion in history. Even during his post-cancer Tour-winning era he has posted two second places in Holland's tough one-day Amstel Gold Classic. Meanwhile Indurain twice did the double of winning Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in the same year. That represents six weeks of hard work and does not leave much time for Classics. However he did become an Olympic champion in the 1996 time trial, and could have surely won elsewhere if he had not retired then. Miguel Indurain - 8
His tactic for taking the major prize was to smash his rivals in the time trials and defend this lead in the mountains. In contrast Armstrong attacks whenever the opportunity is presented, and his three mountain stage wins represent domination that is never dull. But the American has still not won over the French press and public who remain unsure of the outsider who recovered from cancer. Indurain was the king in more innocent days when doping was not such an issue. But, leaving that aside, in football terms Armstrong is like Brazil 1970 with Indurain playing George Graham's Arsenal. Miguel Indurain - 7
Indurain's pre-Tour preparation was focused on "match-fitness" and twice he won the yellow jersey on the back of wins in the Giro d'Italia. His challengers thought they were in with a chance in 1994 when "Big Mig" lost the Giro but he still went on and dominated. But Armstrong is now setting new standards here, arguably revolutionising the sport as other riders follow his lead. Miguel Indurain - 7
Armstrong has also dominated here but if the pair were to go head to head off the ramp, Armstrong would have to make do with an unaccustomed second place. Miguel Indurain - 10
But when his run finally came to an end in 1996, at the hands of Denmark's Bjarne Riis, it was the mountains that proved his downfall. Indurain's relatively weaker climbing was a weakness that Armstrong would undoubtedly prey on much as he does now with Jan Ullrich. Miguel Indurain - 7
His change in attitude has added a ruthless streak and in 2001 the American came back from a deficit of over 30 minutes to claim victory in the Tour. When Indurain faced his toughest challenge in the Tour in 1996 he cracked and, despite winning Olympic gold in Atlanta, retired from cycling. Miguel Indurain - 9 | |
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