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Petacchi again Second Tour win for Italian sprinter; Nazon claims leadPosted: Tuesday July 08, 2003 10:59 AMUpdated: Tuesday July 08, 2003 12:51 PM
SAINT-DIZIER, France (AP) -- Alessandro Petacchi of Italy, speeding to the line in a blinding sprint marked by another crash, took his second stage win in just three days at this Tour de France on Tuesday. Cycling superstar Lance Armstrong, seeking a record-tying fifth victory, finished in 69th place. The four-time champion is conserving his strength in the Tour's early stages, trying to avoid crashes and saving himself for an important team time-trial Wednesday and crucial mountain climbs in the Alps that start Saturday. "There was really nothing special to report," said Jogi Muller, a spokesman for Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team. "They're still nervous, there are still crashes, still lucky not be involved, which means the team did a great job in protecing Lance." Petacchi beat out Romans Vainsteins, a Latvian, and Spain's Oscar Freire in the dash into Saint-Dizier, the third of the three-week Tour's 20 stages. Petacchi also won the first stage on Sunday. (Full Results | Overall Standings "I had a great sprint," said the 29-year-old from the Italian Fassa Bortolo team. "I'm starting to get into form." French rider Jean-Patrick Nazon, who finished Tuesday in 14th place, took the coveted yellow jersey worn by the overall Tour leader. He is the first Frenchman since Francois Simon in 2001 to wear the jersey. This is the Tour's centennial year, which made it extra-special. "People will remember that I'm the first French rider in a yellow jersey at this centennial," said Nazon, of the French Jean Delatour team. "It has happened so quickly. I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding what's happening." (Nazon answers Armstrong criticism) Armstrong was 12th overall, just 19 seconds back from Nazon with 17 days of racing to go. Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner and a key threat to Armstrong's drive for five wins, is 6th overall, five seconds ahead of the 31-year-old Texan. Tyler Hamilton, struggling on with a collarbone fractured in a huge crash involving about 35 riders on Sunday, finished 43rd on Tuesday. Before the injury, Hamilton had been considered another of Armstrong's potential rivals. He is 10th overall. "I'm feeling about 80-85 percent," Hamilton said after Tuesday's stage. "There is just this kind of dull numbing pain which nags away at me." The final sprint after the 167.5-kilometer (103.9-mile) stage was marked by another crash, this time involving Rene Haselbacher of the Gerolsteiner team. The Austrian was treated by doctors by the side of the road and later completed the race. Petacchi completed the race, run under hot, sunny skies, in 3 hours 27 minutes, 39 seconds.
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