Jean Patrick Nazon, French Cyclist, Leads Stage Three of the Tour de France - 2004-07-06

On Tuesday, in the third stage of the Tour de France cycling competition, Jean Patrick Nazon, a French cyclist, took the lead. Nazon completed the 195-kilometer race from Waterloo in Belgium to Wazecal in northern France, known as the 'Hell of the North' for its dangerous and cobbled terrain, in 4 hours, 36 minutes, and 45 seconds. German cyclist Erik Zabel finished second, and Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen came in third. Since 1985, the Tour de France had not included a route through such a treacherous cobbled path, and many cyclists expressed concerns that this route should not have been part of the competition. American cyclist Lance Armstrong, a five-time champion riding for the United States Postal Service team, finished the race 5 seconds behind Nazon. He stated that in this route, one must stay ahead of other cyclists, and if you get caught behind a cyclist who falls, you might as well say goodbye to the competition. Currently, in the overall standings, Robbie McEwen is in first place with a time of 39:42:13 and wears the special yellow jersey for the leader of the competition. Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara is in second place, just one-tenth of a second behind, followed by German cyclist Jens Voigt, who is nine-tenths of a second behind McEwen, and Jean Patrick Nazon in fourth place, just twelve-hundredths of a second behind. Lance Armstrong is in fifth place. The fourth stage of the competition will take place on Wednesday over a distance of 64.5 kilometers and will be a team time trial. The Tour de France will conclude on July 25 in Paris.