Tour de France
Crash-filled stage won on late sprint; Armstrong in 4th

By John Leicester
The Associated Press

CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP Lance Armstrong rides in the pack during the second stage yesterday between Charleroi and Namur. The defending Tour champion has concerns about today's dangerous course.

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NAMUR, Belgium — While Lance Armstrong played it safe, Robbie McEwen sprinted to victory yesterday in a crash-filled second stage of the Tour de France. But the five-time champion has no doubts about the risks that lurk in today's stage: bone-shaking cobblestone paths that some riders say shouldn't even be part of cycling's showcase race.

Armstrong finished comfortably in the field — along with several key rivals — in 85th place yesterday. His biggest threat, 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich, finished 38th, in the same time as the Texan.

Armstrong is in fourth place overall, 18 seconds behind leader Thor Hushovd of Norway.

As the pack of riders bore down on the finish, McEwen used a burst of speed to get to the front and raised his arms in victory as he crossed the line. Such mass sprints are always hazardous, and this one took out two riders who crashed in the last few hundred yards.

McEwen beat second-placed Hushovd in the 122-mile route from Charleroi to Namur, with a small detour into neighboring France. But Hushovd, who was third in another sprint finish Sunday, still secured the overall lead and the coveted yellow jersey.

"Everything was on automatic," McEwen said. "I won't say it was easy but it went really nicely."

Today could be another day of thrills and spills, with two sections of cobblestone paths that some riders are dreading. The paths are bumpy, unsettling and treacherous when wet — in short, a recipe for crashes.

"Everybody is worried," Armstrong said yesterday. "It's always dangerous. You have to be in the front. If you get stuck behind a crash or something like that then you could almost say that your Tour is finished."

Both cobblestone sections come in the second half of the mostly flat 130-mile stage from Waterloo, Belgium, to the northern French town of Wasquehal. The route should again favor sprinters or riders who brave a breakaway ahead of the main pack.

The first cobbled section runs for 1.7 miles. The second, 15 miles from the finish, is nearly three-quarters of a mile long.

Punctures, crashes, crowds are all potential hazards. Some say the cobblestone sections have no place in the Tour and could spoil the race if they unseat a top rider.

Danish squad CSC plans to fit slightly wider wheels with more grip and have people roadside armed with spares for any punctures, spokesman Brian Nygaard said.

Top rider Ivan Basso, an outside contender for the title, has never competed on cobblestones before, although the team scouted both sections twice last week.

Riders "don't like it. The element of chance is too big," said Nygaard. "If you have a puncture there and have to wait two minutes for a spare, your Tour could be over."

Armstrong rival Tyler Hamilton, who fractured his collarbone in a crash on day two of last year's Tour, also ordered wider wheels for his team, its mechanic said.

Hamilton says he would have avoided the stones had he designed the Tour route.

"But that's what bike racing is all about, different terrain, mountains, flat stages, crosswinds and this year cobblestones," he said. "We'll obviously try to stay toward the front and try to stay upright. Our goal for that day is just safety."

Armstrong said his team has scouted out the hazardous sections and he has ridden them.

To keep the champion safe in the fast first stages, his U.S. Postal Service squad generally designates two teammates to stay with him each day, Postal veteran George Hincapie said.

Hincapie, competing in his ninth Tour, and Viatcheslav Ekimov, a Russian on his 14th Tour, take over the bodyguard role for the final 12 miles, when the pack is speeding to the line.

"We keep him out of the wind, keep him from going too far behind, just keep him in a good position all day — with as little energy expenditure as possible," said Hincapie.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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