SERAING, Belgium -- Erik Zabel won his second
stage of this year's Tour de France on Tuesday in an
enthralling day that saw all the race favorites test each other
out. Australia's Stuart O'Grady took over the yellow jersey.
|  | | Lance Armstrong autographs his book for a Belgian spectator prior to the start of the third stage. |
Lance Armstrong, who is chasing a hat-trick of wins this
year, was prominent in a 14-man leading group with about 12
miles to go of a 123-mile stage that started in Antwerp.
Armstrong finished 10th in the stage, and is now seventh overall, 21 seconds off the pace.
Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki and Christophe Moreau, tipped as
his most likely challengers, were all in contention as the
leading players checked on each other's form and fitness.
All four men finished safely in the main group of riders in
the race that will be won on the mountains rather than the
moderate climbs on the approach to Seraing, just outside Liege.
Zabel's second stage win of the current Tour, and his 10th
overall, was enough to give him back the lead in the points
standings, boosting his bid for a sixth successive green
jersey.
The German, who won the first sprint finish on Sunday, was
once again unstoppable as he surged to the line past the
cycling-crazy Belgian fans who had lined the route 10-deep at
times.
Zabel paid tribute to the work of his Telekom team, who had
forced the pace to ensure there would be no late escapes.
"My team worked so hard for me today I couldn't afford to
miss out," said Zabel.
"Even Jan Ullrich was there working for me at the end."
Emmanuel Magnien was second for France, with the Italian
Stefano Garzelli just behind.
O'Grady, in second place overall at the start of the day,
took the yellow jersey for the second time in his career as
Marc Wauters was surprisingly dropped on one of the three third
category climbs.
Moreau was 11th, Ullrich 13th and Beloki 14th as they all
finished in the same time to stay in contention for the race.
After 13 miles of Tuesday's run, 19 riders went off on a
dangerous-looking break, with Frenchman Moreau and Laurent
Jalabert among them.
Armstrong's U.S. Postal team organized the pursuit at the
front of the peloton and the majority of the riders, including
the main threat Moreau, were soon caught.
The U.S. Postal chase upped the pace significantly and one
of the favorites for the yellow jersey, Francesco Casagrande,
appeared to be struggling as he dropped out of the peloton.
His Fassa Bortolo team mates nursed him back but he
finished almost five minutes behind the leaders.
Two riders from the original 19-man break, Nicolas
Jalabert, Laurent's brother, and Frederic Guesdon, managed to
push their advantage to around one minute 40 seconds with 25
miles to go.
They were alone at the front to tackle Mont Theux, an
historic climb from the Liege-Baston-Liege race.
They were eventually caught, though, and there were several
more attempted escapes before the Kelme rider Jose Enrique
Guiterrez got a few seconds clear.
Armstrong set out in pursuit of Guiterrez and was joined by
his main rivals in the lead group.
The attacks continued on the final climb but none was
successful and Telekom duly came to the front of the peloton to
set up Zabel for his win.
The race continues on Wednesday with the 133-mile fourth
stage from Huy back into France to Verdun.
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ALSO SEE
Tour de France: Day-by-day
Tour de France results -- Stage 3
This time, O'Grady makes sure of yellow jersey
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