Lance Armstrong lost a valuable teammate from the Tour de France Thursday as Manuel Beltran, a strong Spanish climber, hit his head when he crashed and had to be withdrawn from the race after he showed signs of confusion.
The 34-year-old Beltran was taken by ambulance to the city of Gap, where X-rays showed no apparent problems, said the director of the Discovery Channel team, Johan Bruyneel. Beltran gave strong support in the mountains when Armstrong won in 2003 and 2004 during his run of six consecutive Tour victories.
"It could be very critical for the team in the Pyrenees," Armstrong said. "But what's happened has happened. I'm confident we can handle the Pyrenees with seven guys" in support.
Bruyneel added that "you need all the guys. There's nobody to do his job because everybody already has a role. But the most important thing is that he's safe."
After he crashed in the first hour of the stage and was put back on his bicycle, Beltran rode for 10km or 15km, "but he was riding without power," Bruyneel said, adding that Beltran did not remember that he had gone down. The race doctor recommended that he be sent to a hospital, where he was remaining overnight.
The crash occurred on the last of three days in the Alps, covering 187km over five minor climbs from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains in the lower Alps of Provence.
Another victim of crashes, Tom Boonen, the ace Belgian sprinter for Quick Step and the leader in the points competition, also withdrew Thursday. He won two early stages in the 21-stage Tour and then began suffering from a series of falls, including one Wednesday .
But good news wasn't missing from the Tour Wednesday as it headed south.
Peering down the road in the charming village of Seyne-les-Alpes, a Frenchman named Michel called to his 8-year-old grandson that the Tour de France was approaching.
"Not everybody," the grandfather said. "Just those in a breakaway."
"And one of them," he announced, "is French -- Sandy Casar."
"That's good," the boy said.
"Because it's the Quatorze Juillet?" or July 14, the French national day, a foreign spectator asked Michel.
"July 14, July 15, July 16," he replied. "Who cares? Any day that a Frenchman has a chance of winning a stage in the Tour de France is a very good day."
It was an even better day than that. David Moncoutie, a Frenchman with Cofidis, won the 12th stage, and Casar, who works for fdj.com, was second. Another Frenchman, Patrice Halgand of Credit Agricole, was fourth, while Angel Vicioso, a Spaniard with Liberty Seguros, prevented the clean sweep by finishing third.
"It's fabulous to win on the Quatorze Juillet," Moncoutie said, echoing the victory speech of the 28 previous French winners on Bastille Day since 1905.
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