Tour de France field plays it safe in downpour

LISIEUX, France – Alberto Contador knew it made little sense to take risks on a day when blinding, torrential rain lashed riders in the Tour de France.

The 141-mile course Thursday – the sixth and longest stage in the three-week race – made for a dangerous trip.

And the field was fortunate to avoid a major crash, a day after riders went tumbling everywhere.

“It was another nervous stage and because of the rain I virtually couldn’t see anything,” said Contador, the defending champion and three-time Tour winner who crashed Wednesday. “At the end of the stage I was moving to the very front of the pack, simply to avoid accidents, and not because I wanted to attack.”

Contador and his Tour rivals, such as two-time runners-up Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck, played it safe as Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway led a sprint to capture his first stage on the Tour. He finished in 5 hours, 13 minutes, 37 seconds.

Matt Goss of Australia was second and overall race leader Thor Hushovd was third, giving Norway the distinction of having the stage winner and yellow jersey holder on the same day.

Moving fairly close to the front meant relative safety for Contador, Schleck and Evans. They all were part of the first 50 of the 197 riders who completed the stage.

Evans kept second overall. The Australian is 1 second behind Hushovd while Schleck is 12 seconds behind in 10th spot.

Contador is 1:42 off the lead and stands in 34th place.