Associated Press

Blois, July 5:

Lance Armstrong’s Discovery Channel team won the team time trial of the Tour de France on Tuesday, giving the six-time champion the overall race lead. The 33-year-old American led his team to victory for the third straight year in the event by clocking 1 hour, 10 minutes, 40 seconds for the 67.5-kilometre trek from Tours to Blois. Team CSC placed second, 2 seconds behind. American rider David Zabriskie of CSC, who had come into the stage in the leader’s yellow jersey, fell in the last kilometre. With the win, Armstrong will wear the yellow jersey for the 66th time in his Tour career. Discovery teammate George Hincapie is second overall, 55 seconds behind Armstrong. Under overcast skies, the nine-man teams set off one-by-one through the Loire River valley, known for its majestic medieval and Renaissance castles, and through the town of Ambroise where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last years of his life. The Discovery teammates took turns leading the single-file pack of riders. “It was a very tight match up as we expected. We kept a good rhythm,” Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel said. “We stayed together... It was a beautiful machine operating.” The riders will now embark on three relatively flat stages toward Germany, which the race enters on Friday, starting with a 183km ride from the Chambord castle to Montargis on Wednesday.