MOGOLLON, N.M. — Lance Armstrong felt some jitters at the start Wednesday, when he saddled up for his first race since breaking a collarbone during a crash in Spain last month.
He left satisfied after the opening stage of the five-day Tour of the Gila. He came to New Mexico, he said, to regain a feel for the peloton, work at racing pace and boost his conditioning for the Giro d’Italia, which begins May 9.
“You definitely feel stiff or blocked a little bit,” Armstrong said after his eighth-place finish. “That’s to be expected. You can train those intense intervals but it doesn’t replicate a race.”
Armstrong only spent about 20 miles during the 94-mile race from Silver City to Mogollon in the lead group. His tactical mission was helping teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer on a big finishing climb.
“Getting the rhythm, the speed, getting some accelerations in a peloton,” said Armstrong’s boss, Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel. “Also, we’re looking at how he feels. Today, he felt good. He did some work for Levi until Levi could launch his attack.”
Leipheimer won in an unofficial time of 3 hours, 36.02 seconds. Armstrong was clocked at 3:37.42. Kristin Armstrong, gold medalist in the time trial at the Beijing Olympics, won the 73-mile women’s race in 3:40.42.
Afterward, the seven-time Tour de France champion reported no concerns with the collarbone and said it hasn’t bothered him for weeks.
“I feel like the recovery has been good,” Armstrong said. “Those are the things you need. . . . It’s working out so far.”
Armstrong admitted feeling a little nervousness early in the race, especially when two riders crashed.
“Downhill start, everybody’s fresh,” he said. “I think the race has (had) a lot of attention in the last few days, so guys want to be in the front, want to be competitive. That’s to be expected. You just try to watch out for those things and anticipate crashes in front of you.”
