Armstrong Takes a Back Seat in Stage 2

Done with the opening festivities and the restless, single-file, first-day time trial, the Tour de France settled into the soft rhythm of racing in the flats Sunday.

Six-time defending champion Lance Armstrong stayed safe in the cocoon of his Discovery Channel team protectors, finishing in 63rd place in the 112.8-mile run from Challans, and is in second place overall.

Fellow American Dave Zabriskie, the surprise winner of Saturday’s time trial, held the leader’s yellow jersey for at least one more day. His advantage over Armstrong stayed at two seconds.

It was left to Belgium’s Tom Boonen to out-sprint Norway’s Thor Hushovd and Australia’s Robbie McEwen in a furious finish. Boonen, who rides for Quik Step, won the stage in 3 hours 51.31 seconds.

Boonen almost pulled out of the race Saturday because of an abscessed tooth. After a trip to the dentist and a dose of antibiotics, Boonen, who won two stages last year, was at the starting line Sunday.

“It’s very nice to get a win this early,” Boonen said. “The first win is always important. It took me longer last year. Now I feel relaxed.”

With less than two miles to go, there was a massive pile-up started by the fall of France’s Samuel Dumoulin when he lost control of his bike. It is these manic finishes in close quarters during the early, sprinting days when the 189-man field has not been culled by injuries or the toll of the mountains that the leading contenders fear.

Two years ago, Armstrong took a hard fall in a similar crash.

“These finishes still scare me,” said Armstrong, 33, who is in his final competition before retirement.

“I won’t miss them. Everybody is a bit nervous, everybody is cracking a little bit, there’s just a lot happening.”

At the start in Challans, Zabriskie got a taste of being a star. Fans and journalists eager to take stock of the new American leader mobbed the Team CSC trailer. He spoke of drinking celebratory champagne with his teammates Saturday night and of sleeping with one of the stuffed yellow lions that are given to the stage winners. It made a nice extra pillow, Zabriskie said.

But more seriously, Zabriskie made sure to explain that he is not in this Tour to wear the yellow jersey July 24 in Paris.

“It’s great to have for a while,” Zabriskie said, “but we’re here to work for Ivan Basso. I never dreamed I would have the yellow. I don’t know how long I’ll keep it, but sooner or later the yellow jersey is coming off Dave Zabriskie.”

Basso, the Italian who finished third in last year’s Tour, is 1:24 behind Armstrong, who could barely be seen Sunday because he has kept himself tucked safely away from the main action.

Armstrong said that “my legs were terrible,” but then he smiled. “Actually, I feel pretty good. I figure the faster I pedal, the faster I can retire.”

Germany’s Jan Ullrich, who had been embarrassingly passed by Armstrong in Saturday’s time trial, said he felt better Sunday. Ullrich moved into eighth place overall, 1:02 behind Armstrong.

Ullrich, riding for T-Mobile, had crashed into a team car in a training ride Friday.

“That’s got to affect you a little bit,” Armstrong said. “We can’t take anything from his performance [Saturday]. It would be a mistake to think he won’t be better in a few days’ time.”

The 131.8-mile stage today from La Chataigneraie to Tours, a city set on the Loire River and in the midst of the chateaux and vineyards, is numbingly flat and another stage given to the sprinters.

The eagerly awaited team trial is scheduled for Tuesday, and it is possible the Discovery Channel team may try to make a move or two. Discovery Channel trails Team CSC by four seconds.

The starting positions Tuesday are determined by the combined times of the teams so far, with the fastest team taking off last. There is an advantage in knowing what the other teams are doing.

“All I’ll say is my goal [today] is to stay safe,” Armstrong said. “That’s it.”

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STAGE 2 AT A GLANCE

* Stage: From Challans to Les Essarts (112.8 miles).

* Winner: Tom Boonen, Belgium, Quick Step, 3 hours 51 minutes 31 seconds.

* How others fared: Lance Armstrong, United States, Discovery Channel, 63rd; Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile, 19th; Ivan Basso, Italy, Team CSC, 38th. All were accorded the same time as Boonen.

* Yellow jersey: David Zabriskie, United States, Team CSC.

* Quote of the day: “These finishes still scare me. I won’t miss them. Everybody’s a bit nervous, everybody’s cracking a little bit.” -- Armstrong on sprint stages.

* On the web: For more information on the Tour de France, including Diane Pucin’s blog, photo galleries and up-to-the-minute standings, please visit latimes.com/tour.

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OVERALL LEADERS

1. David Zabriskie, U.S. 4:12:22

2. Lance Armstrong, U.S. 2 seconds behind

3. Laszlo Bodrogi, Hungary 47 behind

4. A. Vinokourov, Kazakhstan 53 behind

5. George Hincapie, U.S. 57 behind

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STAGE 2 RESULTS

1. Tom Boonen, Belgium 3:51

2. Thor Hushovd, Norway 3:51

3. Robbie McEwen, Australia 3:51

4. Stuart O’Grady, Australia 3:51

5. Luciano Pagliarini, Brazil 3:51