Armstrong Shares Vision With Leader

It was a moment of graciousness from Lance Armstrong to a possible successor.

In the middle of the peloton, while everybody was riding leisurely, at about 30 mph or so, Armstrong sneaked up on the side of David Zabriskie, leaned over and started talking, cyclist to cyclist, two guys riding in the countryside, whizzing by 900-year-old chateaux.

Zabriskie, a 26-year-old from Salt Lake City who rides for a Danish organization, Team CSC, kept possession of the yellow jersey, the coveted shirt owned by the overall leader at the Tour de France. Having won it in Saturday’s opening time trial, Zabriskie left Monday’s 133-mile stage still holding a two-second lead over six-time defending champion Armstrong.

So it was a special moment when Zabriskie turned and saw Armstrong, who has announced his retirement after this Tour.

“He said, ‘I hope you’re enjoying it,’ ” Zabriskie said. “I said, ‘Yes, I am.’ He asked if he could have a turn with it. I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ ”

Armstrong’s turn could happen as soon as today’s team time trial.

For the last two years, wearing the uniforms of the U.S. Postal Service, Armstrong and his buddies have earned the Texan crucial seconds by demolishing the field. In the team time trial, each squad rides together and everybody’s time counts.

But Team CSC -- studded with such stars as Italian Ivan Basso, the Tour’s third-place rider last year, and well-experienced time-trialer Bobby Julich, along with Zabriskie, who is the current U.S. national team champion -- feels as if it’s ready to end the U.S. entry’s hold on the stage.

“Holding on to the lead is going to be really tough,” Zabriskie said. “But we have a strong team and we’ll give it our best.”

Armstrong was content again to stay anonymous in the pack. He finished 87th and was more inclined to talk about the next stage than this one.

“Days like today aren’t necessarily my idea of a great time,” Armstrong said. “Everybody does something a little bit crazy in front of you.

“Tuesday is an important day. It’s important to show that the team is the strongest.”

If Discovery Channel does win, Armstrong probably will claim the yellow jersey from Zabriskie.

“It’s a jersey I still cherish,” he said.

Although Monday’s large and enthusiastic crowds had plenty of American fans waving banners not only for Armstrong and Zabriskie but also for Floyd Landis, who stands in sixth place, Levi Leipheimer (15th), Julich (11th) and George Hincapie (fifth), it was Belgian fans who were dancing at the finish.

For the second day in a row, young Belgian sprinter Tom Boonen crossed the finish line first.

For the dozens of fans wearing green “Tom Boonen!” T-shirts, the party started the instant Boonen crossed the finish line of the stage that had begun in La Chataigneraie. As Boonen became aware he had won a sprint finish for the second day in a row, he raised his arms high and his backers popped the corks on some champagne.

Boonen, 24, was just ahead of Peter Wrolich of Austria and two Australians, Stuart O’Grady and Robbie McEwen. Though McEwen appeared to finish third, officials ruled he intentionally blocked O’Grady’s route to the finish line, so O’Grady won the extra points for finishing third.

Armstrong, Zabriskie and all the top Tour contenders -- Basso, Jan Ullrich, Alexandre Vinokourov, Andreas Kloeden, Leipheimer and Landis -- all finished in the main peloton. So Zabriskie kept his yellow jersey, Armstrong remained in second place and none of the contenders lost anything to Armstrong.

Everyone went to bed healthy and eager for the big test today. Each team will take off in five-minute intervals. By virtue of its best accumulated time so far, Zabriskie’s CSC group will go last. Discovery Channel will be five minutes up the road that meanders along the Loire River from Tours to Blois.

Zabriskie said he would always have a nice remembrance of his wearing yellow on a red, white and blue Independence Day holiday.

“It’s nice to be in yellow on the Fourth of July,” he said. “Maybe I won’t be here next year, and I’ll be thinking about wearing the yellow jersey while I’m back home around a barbecue drinking the drink that people like to drink.”

More likely, though, Zabriskie will be in France again, without Armstrong anymore but certainly with other Americans.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

*--* STAGE 3 AT A GLANCE * Stage: A 133-mile trek from La Chataigneraie to Tours favoring sprinters. * Winner: Tom Boonen, Belgium, Quick Step, 4 hours 36 minutes 9 seconds. Boonen wins second stage in a row. * How others fared: Lance Armstrong, United States, Discovery Channel, 87th; Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile, 34th; Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan, T-Mobile, 62nd; Ivan Basso, Italy, Team CSC, 78th. All were accorded the same time as Boonen. * Yellow jersey: David Zabriskie, United States, Team CSC. * Quote of the day: “I can’t go to bed at night thinking 100% we’re going to win.” -- Armstrong, on today’s team trial. * 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 STAGE 3 RESULTS 1. David Zabriskie, U.S. 8:48:31 1. Tom Boonen, Belgium 4:36 2. Lance Armstrong, U.S. 2 seconds 2. Peter Wrolich, Austria behind 4:36 3. Laszlo Bodrogi, Hungary 0:47 3. Stuart O’Grady, Australia behind 4:36 4. A. Vinokourov, Kazakhstan 0:53 4. Bernhard Eisel, Austria behind 4:36 5. George Hincapie, U.S. 0:57 behind 5. Allan Davis, Australia 4:36

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