Erik Zabel claimed his second stage of this year’s Tour in an uphill sprint finish that involved both Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich. The German rider took full advantage of some great Telekom teamwork in the final kilometres, with Jan Ullrich contributing to the ferocious pace setting. Zabel once again proved his versatility as a rider by staying with the leaders on the three steep climbs before the finish. Marc Wauters found the pace to hot and lost over six minutes and subsequently the leaders yellow jersey, which passes onto the shoulders of Aussie rider Stuart O’Grady. It’s the second time O’Grady has worn the yellow jersey, after he won it in 1998, and he has every chance of keeping it until the team time trial on Thursday.
The 199 kilometre stage from Antwerp to Seraing had begun in typical fashion with a long break led by Nicolas Jalabert and Frederic Guesdon. However the two Frenchmen were caught on the steep slopes of the second climb, as the likes of Armstrong and Moreau moved to the front. A number of riders tried to break clear but Telekom ace, Alexandre Vinokouov kept Zabel’s hopes alive by chasing down any dangerous move.
Stage three results Antwerp-Seraing
1st Erik Zabel (Ger, Telekom) 4h’35m’17s
2nd Emmanuel Magnien(Fra, FDJ)
3rd Stefano Garzelli (Ita, Mapei)
4th Fabio Baldato (Ita, Fasso)
5th Francois Simon (Fra, Bonjour)
6th Mikhailov Guennedi (Rus, Lotto)
7th Christophe Capelle (Bel, Bi Mat)
8th Frank Bouyer (Fra, Bonjour)
9th Serge Baguet (Bel, Lotto)
10th Lance Armstrong (USA, USPS) all same time
31st Stuart O’Grady (Aus, CA)s.t
Overall after three stages
1st Stuart O’Grady (Aus, CA) 14h’15m’44s
2nd Christophe Moreau (Fra, Festina) at 17s
3rd Rik Verbrugghe (Bel, Lotto) at 18s
4th Jens Voigt (Ger, CA) at 20s
5th Igor Galdeano (Esp, ONCE) at s.t
6th Bobby Julich (USA, CA) at 21s
7th Lance Armstrong (USA, USPS) at s.t
8th Erik Zabel (Ger, Telekom) at s.t
9th Jan Ullrich (Ger, Telekom) at 24s
10th Florent Brard (Fra, Festina) at s.t
115th Marc Wauters (Bel, Rabobank) at 5m’26
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