"You have to change rhythm completely, right from the start of the climb. That's the hard part and that is going to hurt, for sure. You have to deal with the pain as soon as possible and not think about it that much and just go," Moerenhout said of the ascent that the Tour first scaled in 1952. Armstrong was the last winner there, in 2004.
Hardest day
Tomorrow brings perhaps the hardest day of riding this year, with the monstrous Galibier pass opening the ball. It goes up, up and up -- for 43km, peaking at an altitude of 2,646m -- the roof of the Tour.
Three more climbs follow that, the last an uphill finish. The whole route will take the riders some six hours.
Normally at this stage of the race, Armstrong often had the race locked up. But he retired last year. Without him and top riders Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich -- sent home on the eve of the Tour because of allegations they were linked to a doping ring in Spain -- there is a sense that anything could still happen, even if Landis is the favorite.
"It's a different race without a big leader," Moerenhout said. "Everybody thinks, `Maybe we can win.'"
Sunday's 180.5km stage 14 from Montelimar to Gap, in the foothills of the Alps, was marked by a spectacular crash involving David Canada and Rik Verbrugghe. The scorching sun melted the roads, and they lost control of their bikes on a right-hand turn. German rider Matthias Kessler plowed into Canada and cartwheeled over a safety barrier on the side of the road.
Kessler remounted and finished. But Verbrugghe, a Belgian riding for Cofidis, broke his left leg and opened a bad cut on his left arm. Canada, a Spanish rider with Saunier Duval, broke his right collarbone.
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