Scanlon is flying!!!!

uberwolf

AG2R rider Jean-Patrick Nazon (France) (centre) wins the third stage of the Tour de France from Waterloo (Belgium) to Wasquehal (France) yesterday. On the left is T-Mobile team rider Erik Zabel (Germany), who was second, while on the right is fourth placed Quick Step rider Tom Boonen (Belgium).





Scanlon guides Nazon home as cobbles cause Tour chaos
Wednesday July 7th 2004
AG2R rider Jean-Patrick Nazon (France) (centre) wins the third stage of the Tour de France from Waterloo (Belgium) to Wasquehal (France) yesterday. On the left is T-Mobile team rider Erik Zabel (Germany), who was second, while on the right is fourth placed Quick Step rider Tom Boonen (Belgium).

THOR HUSHOVD found the other face of the Tour de France yesterday when, after becoming the first Norwegian to lead the race on Monday, he trailed home a mile behind the day's winner, Jean-Patrick Nazon of France, to see his lead pass to the Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen.

In the most significant stage so far, the cobbled roads of northern France caught many of the field unawares as they raced under glorious sunshine between Waterloo in Belgium and the Roubaix suburb of Wasquehal in France.

Ireland's Mark Scanlon finished five seconds behind his AG2R team-mate Nazon after a bunch sprint in 75th place and as a result the 23-year-old Sligo man moves up eight places in the overall standings to 28th position.

In the young riders' classification the Irishman jumped from 11th to fifth position 35 seconds behind Swiss rider Fabian Cancellera.

The AG2R team, with Scanlon to the fore, made their move with a kilometre to go and Nazon burst clear to take the stage.

American five-times winner Lance Armstrong had a faultless day when he used his US Postal team to force the pace as they approached the first stretch of cobblestones near Valenciennes. As a bonus, a mass crash left Spanish favourites, Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia far behind.

"You have to stay near the front," emphasised Armstrong at the finish, but out on the road, he wasted little time in calling all of his team to the front.

The front group sped on to the bad roads, once trodden by Napoleon's armies, at 30mph, and the 60 riders who formed behind were left to limit their day's losses.

Worst hurt in the crash was Italy's Marco Velo, who broke his collar-bone when he tumbled into a ditch. Mayo, who also fell, had little time to reflect on the situation as he remounted and started his fruitless chase. Another Spanish favourite and former team-mate of Armstrong, Roberto Heras, was also delayed, but he managed to rejoin the leaders after his team formed around.

It soon became apparent that the two big bunches would not regroup and, with race leader Hushovd also in the rear section, the race leadership itself was up for grabs.

McEwen, providing he took a small time bonus by finishing in the first three, was the next candidate for the yellow jersey which has had three different owners since Saturday.

"I knew if I made the first three I would get the lead but, to be honest, I really would have preferred the win," said McEwen.

"I don't think the cobbled roads should be included in the race, but then, if they left out the mountains, then I would be able to win the Tour overall!"

McEwen, a non-climber, is more concerned with winning the green jersey of points champion. In 2002 he became the first Australian to do that and also gained the lead in this competition yesterday.

Armstrong, who finished with his face blackened by the dusty journey on the farm roads said that the first section of bad roads were the worst, but he was in favour of their inclusion.

He finished alongside arch-rival Jan Ullrich and fellow American Tyler Hamilton in the front group of 90 riders and they all had a look of satisfaction on their faces after the realization that their main Spanish rivals had lost 3 minutes 53 seconds.

"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." Today is when the major time gains should take place with the teams riding in their own 21 formations in a team time trial of 40 miles between Cambrai and Arras.

This stage was won by Armstrong's US Postal team last year and laid the foundation for his fifth victory in Paris.

After yesterday, Armstrong's team, as leaders of the team classification get the significant bonus of starting last and therefore will be made well aware as to the progress of the other squads.

Unfortunately for Mayo and Zubeldia, they are not specialists at this type of racing and are likely to lose even more time to the likes of Armstrong, Ullrich and Hamilton. McEwen is unlikely to retain his lead, but he will soon return to concentrate on winning the flatter stages in the hope he can repeat his green jersey win of 2002. His sprinting has been far sharper than his main rival, Alessandro Petacchi.

Petacchi, who won a post-war record of nine stages in last month's Tour of Italy, has found the rough and tumble finishes to each day in the Tour de France, a far different proposition.

So far, two eighth places and yesterday, only 72nd, is all he has to show for his opening four days in the race.

© Daily Telegraph, London

Phil Liggett
in Wasquehal

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very impressive.