Mayo to quit Tour?
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ByEurosport
Published 17/07/2004 at 19:45 GMT
Euskaltel mountain magician Iban Mayo foreshadowed a premature end to his 2004 Tour de France Saturday, physically and mentally in the dumps after being booted 37 min 40 sec off the back on the race's 13th stage.
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Image credit: Eurosport
"I came to the Tour with big ambitions but today I just didn't have the legs to ride well," Mayo said.
Mayo -- winner at the summit of the daunting Alpe d'Huez at last year's race -- plummeted off the pace every time the road went up on Stage 13, a behemoth seven-summit Pyrenean haul between Lannemezan and the Plateau de Beille.
Flanked by his Euskaltel teammates on the super-vertical opening grades of the category-one Col d'Agnes, Mayo could barely turn his pedals over, drifting ever backwards before putting a foot down -- ostensibly calling it quits.
"I honestly thought about quitting because my legs felt very bad and I was completely demoralised but my team mates and team director convinced me to carry on for the good of the team," Mayo said after the finish.
Sixth overall at the 2003 Tour de France and a highly touted pre-race challenger to Lance Armstrong this year, Mayo finished in 115th place on Saturday's stage, 37 min 40 sec behind Armstrong.
"I don't know what is going to happen in the rest of the Tour, riding so badly has been a big blow mentally," Mayo said after the finish.
"I'll see how I feel during tomorrow's stage to Nimes and then on Monday's rest day but I'm not optimistic about my chances of carrying on."
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