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Armstrong poised for push
A delighted Lance Armstrong survived a treacherous third stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday while forging clear of one of his key rivals. The French celebrated the stage victory, AG2R rider Jean-Patrick Nazon snatching first place in a sprint ahead of German Erik Zabel and new overall leader Robbie McEwen of Australia. But it was Armstrong and his US Postal team who recorded the biggest tactical success of the day after rival Iban Mayo crashed. The Spaniard fell before the first of two daunting cobblestone stretches during the 210 km run between Waterloo and Wasquehal. The Euskaltel team leader, who humbled the five-time Tour winner in the Dauphine Libere race two weeks before this race, was able to remount despite gashing his left thigh after 143 km. But Mayo was not able to catch up with the main group as they split apart and he lost three minutes, 53 seconds on the race favourite. "It was unbelievable!" Armstrong said. "I was fortunate to have some experienced guys up there to help me. The second section of pave (cobblestones) wasn't too bad, it was the first section that did all the damage." Armstrong finished in 54th place, five seconds behind the winner and in the same group as German contender Jan Ullrich. The American was 16 seconds off the overall lead before Wednesday's team time trial. His teammates Viaceslav Ekimov and George Hincapie had taken command by setting a furious pace on the cobbles, breaking up the peloton before Ullrich's T-Mobile team and Tyler Hamilton's Phonak joined forces with them. Mayo's chances, meanwhile, are now seriously damaged. The 64.5 km team run on Wednesday should cost him even more time against his main rivals. "You couldn't win the Tour today but you could lose it," said US Postal team director Johan Bruyneel. "For Mayo to lose four minutes is very, very important, but of course the Tour is not over. "Everybody knew that there were going to be crashes, punctures and accidents and that somebody was going to get in trouble so it was great for Lance to have two good guys like Hincapie and Ekimov up there to look after him. "They're specialists of races like Paris-Roubaix and so know how to ride the cobbles. They were first on to them and that was vital. It was a planned move and worked perfectly." Mayo, meanwhile, paid the price for failing to ride in warm-up races and was unfamiliar with cobblestones, last seen on the Tour in 1985. Caught in the same pile-up, Italian's Marco Velo was forced out of the Tour with a broken collarbone. Norway's Thor Hushovd, the Tour leader at the start in Waterloo, also fell in the first cobbled sector and was left stranded in a chasing group. McEwen had mixed emotions after taking over his first leader's jersey in a big Tour. "I would have preferred to win the stage but I made my move too early," he said. Wednesday's team time trial could help Armstrong reclaim the yellow jersey he has held for 53 days since 1999. "Well if the team wins, then I will definitely be in the yellow jersey," said Armstrong. |
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