Armstrong wins Leadville

Image 1 of 20

Lance Armstrong  (Mellow Johnny's) won round two of the Leadville 100 battle with six-time winner Dave Wiens. Armstrong crossed the line solo, riding on a flat rear tire, on a sunny Saturday afternoon high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Racing for Mellow Johnny's, the seven-time Tour de France winner pedalled slowly against the resistance of his deflated tire across the red carpet leading uphill to the finish line, where spectators lined both sides of the road.

Wiens (Topeak Ergon) finished second, also riding on his own, approximately 25 minutes behind Armstrong. 

"I am beat.  I rode as hard as I could - a fantastic race.  Lance is fast," said Wiens to reporters gathered at the finish.  "This year's race was very different than last year's race."

"This year, Lance is coming off the Tour (de France).  Last year, Lance was coming off the couch," joked Wiens, who was happy with his second placed finish. It was soon after last year's Leadville race that Armstrong announced his return to professional cycling.

The Texan was slowed near the end by crowds who at times spilled onto the streets near the finish, but he'd worked earlier in the race to establish a very comfortable gap.

A group of leaders emerged early in the race, which started faster than previous years.  Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College) was one rider setting the blistering pace for most of the first half of the race according to Wiens. Another was Travis Brown.  At about mile 40, Wiens suffered and dropped off the group.  Armstrong soon made his escape and rode more than half of the 100-mile event on his own in individual time trial mode.  Wiens worked his way up into a solid second-place finish.

Shriver rode strongly to finish third place.  After some time in fourth, he passed Alex Grant  after Grant crashed on the last downhill of the day.

Approximately 1,300 racers started the race at 5:45 am, just after it became light. They would have 12 hours to complete the event and earn an official time.

Race favorite Tinker Juarez abandoned the race after his seat clamp failed.  Two other favorites, Jeremiah Bishop and Levi Leipheimer, had to sit out the race due to injuries.

Specialized's Rebecca Rusch, who won the 24 hours of Adrenalin solo world championships at the end of July, was the fastest woman of the day in Leadville. She won with a time of 8:14:53, approximately one hour and 45 minutes behind Armstrong. Her time placed her in 30th overall among the men.

Amanda Carey finished 25 minutes behind Rusch for second place in the women's race.

Click here for a gallery of images from the 2009 Leadville 100

Wobbling across on a fully flatted rear, Lance Armstrong crossed the line in first, a new record of 6:28.

By the time Lance Armstrong cleared the first steep singletrack section, no other riders were visible on the horizon.

The moto riding must have helped Lance Armstrong tune up for the technical trail conditions.

Nearing the top of the tree line, Lance Armstrong keep the heat on - never dialing back the effort.

Lance Armstrong said after the race that the decision to go it alone was driven in part by the need to put in a big effort to warm up!

Despite a multi-minute lead, Lance Armstrong was constantly looking back afraid that Dave Wiens was coming up from behind.

Heading into the Columbine climb, Lance Armstrong was all alone about 1:30 ahead of the next closest rider.

You know Lance Armstrong is in the house when there is a helicopter following the Leadville 100!

Postcard scenery: Lance Armstrong powers along in the Leadville 100

Len Zanni, a training pal of Lance Armstrong from Aspen. He rounded out the top five.

Ft Lewis College racer Matt Shriver was an impressive third.

Despite pulling out with a bad seat clamp, Tinker Juarez was at the line to cheer on his fellow racers.

Dave Wiens' medal

After the event, Lance said that he'd like to be still racing Leadville when he is 50.

Post race inspection… FLAT.

Showing support, some crazed fans put "LA" in a huge Mt. Massive snow field.

The tire was going down…

Three Miles from the finish, the stress of a slowly leaking rear tire was showing on on Lance Armstrong's face.

Lance Armstrong said after the race that the decision to go it alone was driven in part by the need to put in a big effort to warm up!

Another concerned look, but no one was close.