Crash course in survival

Armstrong loses time after fall, McGee wins stage

Bradley McGee completed the Normany region stage in 4:10:56. AP

AVRANCHES, France (AP) -- Bradley McGee of Australia won Saturday's seventh stage of the Tour de France, while three-time champion Lance Armstrong was involved in a late crash that cost him 27 seconds.

"I didn't fall off the bike. I just had to put my foot down," Armstrong was quoted as saying by his team spokesman, Jogi Muller. "There was a crash behind me and Roberto's handlebars got stuck in my back wheel," referring to U.S. Postal Service teammate Roberto Heras.

An earlier, more serious crash affected a number of riders and forced Frenchman Didier Rous to abandon. He was rushed to a nearby hospital with a suspected broken collarbone.

It was unlikely that Armstrong's mishap would seriously hurt his chances of taking a fourth straight title. He won last year's race with a lead of 6 minutes and 44 seconds over his nearest rival.

"It's nothing serious, just lots of confusion," U.S. Postal team director Johan Bruyneel told France 2 television. "Physically, no one is hurt. Lance Armstrong isn't affected at all."

The crash occurred less than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) before the finish, and also involved Frenchman Laurent Jalabert.

Armstrong fell from third to eighth place in the overall standings, and was 34 seconds behind overall leader Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, who retained the yellow jersey.

"I'm just going to have to ride a little bit faster in Monday's time trial," Armstrong was quoted as saying by Muller, who said Heras and U.S. Postal teammate George Hincapie suffered "a few scratches" in the incident.

The Texan is expected to make up time in the mountain stages that start next week. Last year, he finished the Tour with a 6:44 lead over Jan Ullrich, who is absent from this year's competition. Armstrong led Gonzalez Galdeano by 13:28 when he finished.

McGee clocked 4 hours, 10 minutes and 56 seconds in Saturday's 176-kilometer (109-mile) stretch through the northern Normandy region.

He sprinted across the finish line just ahead of Jaan Kirsipuu and Pedro Horillo, who had the same time.

It was the Australian's first ever Tour de France stage victory, and the first in five years for his team, fdjeux.com - previously known as Francaise Des Jeux.

McGee said he was delayed briefly by one of the day's crashes.

"There was a fall at about 5 kilometers from the finish, and I had to put my foot down," McGee said. "But [teammate] Christophe Mengin led me back to the main pack, and I was in a good position for the last kilometer."

World road champion Oscar Freire, winner of this year's second stage, crashed several minutes before Armstrong and finished 6:23 behind McGee.

Didier Rous and fellow Frenchman Christophe Moreau, who finished fourth in the 2000 Tour, were involved in the same incident.

Tour officials said they have done all they can to prevent crashes.

"There have always been crashes in the early phases of the Tour. Today, there were no physical obstacles, it was just due to the nervousness of the pack," said Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc. "I don't know what more we can do to avoid them."

A day earlier, Kazakh rider Alexandr Shefer suffered a broken right wrist in a crash.

Sunday's eighth stage is a 217.5-kilometer (134.9-mile) run through the western Brittany region from Saint-Martin-de-Landelles to Plouay.

 

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