Lance Armstrong seems to test himself with a new challenge everyday at the Tour Down Under. On Thursday's Stage 3, it was joining a fast 14-man breakaway for 50 miles that blew apart the overall race standings.
That breakaway didn't survive to the finish at Victor Harbor, however, where the Rabobank team delivered sprinter Graeme Brown across the line ahead of Wednesday's winner, Allan Davis.
Once again, Team Columbia's George Hincapie finished in 5th place for the second day in a row. Defending Tour champion Andre Greipel of Columbia, who won Stage 1, dropped out of the race after breaking his collarbone in a crash, according to CyclingNews.
Armstrong attack
Riders faced some fierce winds on the 84-mile stage from Unley to Victor Harbor, as well as two King of the Mountain climbs.
Just 12 miles into the race, Armstrong joined a group of 16 riders who attacked the peloton (2 dropped off). They never gained 2 minutes on the peloton, but their speed forced a group of nearly 50 riders to fall off the back.
That group finished the ride about 20 minutes after the winner.
After the race, Armstrong tweeted:
“Tough, windy day. In break all day with strong guys but couldn't make it to the finish. Legs were better today.”
Testing himself
Looking back, it seems like Armstrong is gauging his stamina and power, turning it up a notch on every stage.
The first day, he just hung in there with peloton without getting dropped. On the second stage, he powered off the front of the peloton for less than a minute before being pulled back in.
It makes me wonder what he's planning for Stage 4. He's already hinted that he might try something on Stage 5 on Saturday, which features the Willunga climb.
Finish
The breakaway lost its energy about 21 miles from the finish line. By then, it had pulled apart the peloton and shook up the overall race standings.
Brown was followed across the finish line by Stage 2 winner Allan Davis (Quick Step), Stuart O'Grady (Saxo Bank), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) and Hincapie.
Top 12 overall
1 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank — 5 seconds behind
4 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale — 14 seconds behind
5 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – High Road — 18 seconds behind
6 Matthew Wilson (Aus) UniSA– 19 seconds behind
7 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre – N.G.C — 20 seconds behind
8 José Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
9 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream
10 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux
11 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française Des Jeux
12 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia – High Road
Others:
17 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne — 24 seconds
39 Lance Armstrong (US) Astana — 29 seconds
Also, US-based Team Columbia took over the lead in the team competition.
See the race report and final results at CyclingNews.
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