Armstrong Captures Second Consecutive Tour Dupont Victory

The implausible prospect of an American winning America’s biggest cycling race became a virtual cinch Monday when Lance Armstrong not only won the Tour DuPont’s most important time trial, but shattered the course record in the process.

Overpowering torturous terrain and the unrelenting clock for the second day in succession, the 23-year-old Texan needed 56 minutes, 32.263 seconds to get through the 22.9-mile Roanoke Valley time trial.

Armstrong’s lead in the overall race after five stages stands at 2:43 over second-place Andrea Peron.

“I feel good. I’m not scared at the remainder of the race,” Armstrong said. “This team (Motorola) has some things left to prove and won’t be in a defensive mode, but a lot of things could happen. I could fall off my bike and break my collarbone - let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”