Armstrong survives rough, bumpy Tour de France stage

WASQUEHAL, France — Lance Armstrong turned two treacherous and cobblestone stretches of the Tour de France to his advantage Tuesday while Spanish rival Ivan Mayo crashed in a blow to his title hopes.

Mayo lost a whopping 3 minutes, 48 seconds to Armstrong in the third stage. Armstrong, meanwhile, kept alive his bid for a record sixth straight victory in cycling's showcase race.

"Ugh, that's unbelievable," the Texan said in summing up the difficult day.

Armstrong is fifth overall, 16 seconds behind leader Robbie McEwen of Australia. Armstrong will look to take the lead in the later mountain stages and time trials in a race that ends July 25 in Paris.

Jean-Patrick Nazon of France won the stage from Waterloo in Belgium to Wasquehal in northern France, beating Germany's Erik Zabel and McEwen in a sprint finish.

Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service squad was ruthless, powering to the front of the speeding main pack of riders before hitting the first of the two bone-shaking, dangerous and dusty cobbled tracks on the 130-mile route.

The team safely shepherded the five-time champion across the obstacle. Other rivals, including 1997 Tour champion Jan Ullrich and Tyler Hamilton of the United States, also were unscathed.

"I had some experienced guys there to help me out," Armstrong said, referring to teammates George Hincapie and Viatcheslav Ekimov, Tour veterans who helped him over the cobblestones, emerging with dust caked on their sweaty faces.

Mayo went down as teams were battling fiercely — juggling for position and riding almost flat out — to place themselves at the front of the pack before hitting the bumpy stretch. The front was the best place to be. Those behind risked being pelted with blinding dust or caught in crashes.

As Mayo struggled back to his feet with a gaping tear in his shorts and resumed racing, Armstrong and his Postals zoomed ahead. Looking to put the Spaniard away for good, they piled on the pace, trailing a pack of riders behind them.

Mayo, stuck with a second group of riders behind, couldn't make up the lost ground. He finished 151st of the 184 riders that crossed the finish line.

Overall, after just four days of racing, Mayo trails Armstrong by 4:07. He can still make up time in later mountain stages that are his specialty. But four minutes is a giant gap. He risks losing yet more to Armstrong on Wednesday, in a team time trial that the Postals won last year and are among the favorites to win again.