TNT Sports
Stage 3: Race Reactions
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Published 06/07/2004 at 21:58 GMT+1
Tuesday's Stage 3 winner was Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon, who dusted the bunch in a mass sprint. The day's loser was Iban Mayo, victim of a crash and pack split that booted the overall race favourite a big 3 min 53 sec off the back. Here, in their own wo
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Iban Mayo (ESP / Euskaltel) -- Crash victim
"I couldn't do anything about [the crash]. A rider touched my handlebars. It was just bad luck. But now, because of a small error, everything is ruined."
"I prepared all year for the Tour. The podium will be hard to reach now because I gave too much time away to my adversaries, who by the way, were unforgiving today..."
Robbie McEwen (AUS / Lotto) -- New yellow jersey
"I would have rather won the stage. But the yellow jersey, of course, isn't bad as consolation."
Jan Ullrich (GER / T-Mobile) -- 18th on the stage
I regret that Mayo lost so much time because of a crash. My objective today, however, was to be sure that certain riders [including Mayo] were distanced. Mission accomplished..."
Lance Armstrong (USA / US Postal) -- 54th on the stage
"I was nervous for this stage. The team guys with experience on the cobblestones like Ekimov and Hincapie were essential today. It was their job to get us to the front of the race before the cobbles and not crash. That's what they did."
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