Top Riders Keep Places as They Welcome Break

It was getaway day at the Tour de France.

Away from the everyday rain, the blustery wind, the narrow streets full of cobblestones and other hazards such as dogs crossing the road.

Today is a rest day, but first the 180 cyclists had to finish one last stage in Brittany, where the sport is deeply ingrained and the fans packed themselves against metal barriers and stood unmoving even as they got soaked and the water dripped from their berets and scarves.

A Norwegian, Thor Hushovd, won Sunday’s 104.4-mile stage from Lamballe to Quimper in 3 hours 54 minutes 22 seconds. A young Frenchman, Thomas Voeckler, kept hold of the yellow jersey that belongs to the overall leader, for the fourth consecutive day. And that was nice for the bike-loving Bretons.

But an American, five-time defending champion Lance Armstrong, trying for an unprecedented sixth consecutive title, gave a succinct summation of what’s to come. “The race starts next week,” Armstrong said.

He offered few words so that he could benefit from a hot shower and then a flight to Limoges. He also has ridden cautiously since Wednesday, when his U.S. Postal Service team won the team time trial and gave Armstrong the yellow jersey for a day.

Armstrong quickly gave it back, preferring to sit in the peloton, conserving himself and his teammates for the mountain climbing still ahead. As he has every day since Wednesday, Armstrong stands in sixth place, 9 minutes 35 seconds behind Voeckler but ahead of all his strongest challengers. The closest of those is fellow American Tyler Hamilton, who is 36 seconds behind Armstrong.

Half the field, it seemed, left here wearing bandages to cover scrapes, cuts and bloody gouges. The other half just showed off their bruises -- all shades of black, blue and green.

As the riders climbed off their bikes, if you listened hard enough, it was almost possible to hear the bones creak. They walked off bent at the waist because of stiffness or limped off favoring a hip that bounced off the pavement Thursday or the lower back that crunched on the gravel Friday.

“It will be good to have a rest day,” said Voeckler, the engaging 25-year-old who assures everyone who asks that he is not a legitimate contender yet. “I think some of us need to heal.”

The 20-stage, three-week grind needs a halt. Most will welcome the change of scenery, and weather. Limoges, town of porcelain, is the gateway to the Massif Central, a hot, hilly part of the country that is just the warmup for, finally, some mountain stages.

“There are harder stages to come,” said Armstrong, “and hopefully it will be more selective so that we don’t have 200 guys coming to the finish together.”

Armstrong has criticized some of last week’s finishes, contending that the roads chosen were so narrow it almost guaranteed crashes. According to Tour counters, 99 riders hit the ground in the first week. The count climbed Sunday, but a narrow street wasn’t at fault.

A dog that had run across the road caused this day’s head-over-handlebars tumble. No one could confirm the type of dog. The riders on the ground were too busy taking inventory, counting body parts, replacing punctured tires or taping up bloody gashes.

Hushovd threw his hands in the air and rain dripped off his nose as he crossed the finish line first. “The Vikings have returned to Brittany,” Hushovd said later. “Today was really a good day for me.”

It was Hushovd’s second stage win this year, and he said he was “ecstatic” to have done well for his French team, Credit Agricole. He also said he was “in love” with the cold and constant rain.

Armstrong was less enamored, though he was quick to note it was better than last year’s 100-degree temperatures. “Everybody is sick and tired of the rain,” Armstrong said, “but I’ll take anything over last year. It was so hot you couldn’t sleep.”

Although complaining of some aches left over from his crash Friday, Armstrong pronounced himself content after the first full week of the Tour.

“I can’t complain,” he said. “We’re in a good position. We don’t have a ton of time up on our rivals, but we’ve got enough.”

Hamilton too is looking forward to a recovery day. He has been hobbled by a sore back since landing hard in the stage-ending pileup Friday.

“I’m lucky we had a couple of flat stages to recover,” said Hamilton, who is riding for Swiss team Phonak. “The team has been fantastic. Now we can relax.”

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Tour de France: Stage 8 at a Glance

The eighth stage of the 91st Tour de France:

* Stage: A mostly rainy 104.4-mile leg from Lamballe to Quimper, France, with four climbs and three intermediate sprints.

* Winner: Thor Hushovd, Norway, Credit Agricole, in 3 hours 54 minutes 22 seconds.

* How others fared: Lance Armstrong, U.S. Postal-Berry Floor, finished 33rd, same time. Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile Team, finished 21st, same time.

* Yellow jersey: France’s Thomas Voeckler of Brioches La Boulangere retains the leader’s shirt.

* Quote of the day: “The Vikings have returned to Brittany.” -- Hushovd after winning the stage.

* Next stage: After a rest day today, Stage 9, Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat to Gueret, 99.73 miles.

*--* EIGHTH STAGE TOP FINISHERS N. RIDER Country Team Time 1. THOR HUSHOVD Norway Credit Agricole 3:54:22 2. KIM KIRCHEN Luxemburg Fassa Bortolo same time 3. ERIK ZABEL Germany T-Mobile Team same time 4. ROBBIE MCEWEN Australia Lotto-Domo same time 5. ANDREAS KLODEN Germany T-Mobile Team same time OVERALL LEADERS N. RIDER Country Team Time 1. THOMAS VOECKLER France Brioches La Boulangere 33:03:36 2. STUART O’GRADY Australia Cofidis Credit Par 3:01 behind Telephone 3. SANDY CASAR France fdjeux.com 4:06 behind 4. MAGNUS BACKSTEDT Sweden Alessio-Bianchi 6:27 behind 5. JAKOB PIIL Denmark Team CSC 7:09 behind 6. LANCE ARMSTRONG U.S. U.S. Postal-Berry Floor 9:35 behind

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