CYCLING/Tour de France: This morning the Tour's final mountain stage starts in Mourenx, a name synonymous with one of Eddy Merckx's greatest exploits.

On July 15th, 1969, Merckx sealed his victory in the Tour with an 80-mile lone escape across the Pyrenees, winning in this new town by eight minutes, a feat that set the tone for seven years in which he dominated cycling.

It was a coup de maitre, a piece of supreme aggression which was actually unnecessary because Merckx had the race in his pocket. Now, 36 years on, Mourenx has paid €55,000 to play a completely different role in the Tour, as the launching pad for what should be Lance Armstrong's seventh and final triumphal progress towards Paris.

Today's stage includes the final first- and super-category mountains of the Tour, the Col de Marie Blanque and the Col d'Aubisque. The spirit of resignation among Armstrong's rivals is such that all that can be expected is a fight for the stage win and the minor placings.

"Each year I am reducing the gap between Armstrong and me; unfortunately, this year that won't be enough," was Ivan Basso's verdict, hardly a battle cry from the rider lying second overall.

The Italian is annoyed by comments that he has raced for second here, but he has looked at his most lively when Jan Ullrich has been in trouble. Ullrich is now talking about winning next year's Tour.

After tomorrow's lengthy, flat run eastwards to Revel, Thursday and Friday's stages are precisely the kind of terrain where an enterprising racer with a strong team lying less than three minutes behind the leader might attempt an ambush.

Thursday's is over hilly country to an uphill finish at Mende, and Friday's to Le Puy en Velay includes five climbs on twisting, narrow roads.

Armstrong will not relax, but yesterday his team manager, Johan Bruyneel, was discussing the succession to the Texan within the team next year. Clearly he feels, like everyone else on the Tour, that this year's race is effectively over.

Guardian Service