Road Cycling Career
In 2000 Otxoa won a heavy mountain stage in the Tour de France on top of the Hautacam on a cold and rainy day. He broke away with Nico Mattan with 155 km (96 mi) to race and he would ultimately drop the latter for the first time on the col de Marie Blanque, but Mattan managed to join him on the descent. Otxoa shook off his breakaway companion for good on the climb of the col de l'Aubisque and sailed through the col du Soulor on his own to attack the foot of the Hautacam with a lead of 9 minutes on the chasers. He paid for his earlier efforts on the "hors category" climb by suffering from a drop of energy, but managed to hold on to the victory by crossing the finish line with a 42 seconds advantage over his nearest competitor, eventual yellow jersey winner Lance Armstrong.
Read more about this topic: Javier Otxoa
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