Armstrong Goes on Attack on Tour Down Under

Lance Armstrong went on the attack in yesterday's third stage of the Tour Down Under, the event that typically opens the cycling season in relatively gentle fashion, but which, yesterday, witnessed a day of carnage.

Strong wind contributed to two major crashes, which saw numerous casualties and retirements, but Armstrong was one of 14 riders who escaped, prompting a furious chase across the wind-battered coastal roads of South Australia.

In the end, Armstrong's group was caught, and the American, who complained during the stage about the proximity of a television helicopter to the riders, claimed at the finish in Victor Harbour that it had been an opportunity squandered, with some riders unable – or unwilling – to pull their weight. "In the break some guys were playing it a little possum," he said.

"Some guys didn't work for obvious [team] reasons," added Armstrong. "But that was a perfect group. I told them, just pull consistently and they'll never catch us. But some guys weren't showing their cards."

As for the helicopter, Armstrong said: "When it's that windy the last thing you need is a big wind machine on top of you. It's not safe. And it's a little nauseating listening to that thing all day."

Otherwise, Armstrong added that he was happy with his form on the third day of his comeback: "The high-end intensity, I don't have that yet. [But] you had to be strong to be in that group; there was horsepower there."

Graeme Brown of Australia won the stage from the race leader, Allan Davis, with one of Armstrong's breakaway companions, Stuart O'Grady, third. Andre Greipel, the defending champion and winner of stage one, came off worst in the crashes, colliding with a parked motorcycle and retiring with a dislocated shoulder and cuts and abrasions. Davis was involved in the same crash, but was unhurt. In total, four riders retired and 12 riders were treated for crash injuries.