Tours, France ? Lance Armstrong again was content to ride safely behind in the main pack at the Tour de France on Monday, finishing in 87th place while Belgium’s Tom Boonen sprinted to a stage victory for the second straight day.

Boonen captured the third stage, a 133-mile leg from La Chataigneraie to Tours, in a riveting dash to the line. He won Sunday in similar fashion, finishing this time in 4 hours, 36 minutes, 9 seconds.

U.S. rider David Zabriskie of Team CSC kept the overall leader’s yellow jersey. Armstrong, the runner-up and just two seconds behind, is bidding for a seventh consecutive title in his last race before retirement.

Armstrong does not like the long, flat stages that favor sprinters like Boonen. Two years ago, he was caught in a 35-rider crash on the Tour and was lucky to escape with just cuts and bruises.

“Days like today aren’t necessarily my idea of a great time,” Armstrong said. “Everybody does something a little bit crazy in front of you on the finish.”

Armstrong had no intention of winning this stage. He will, however, try to gain more ground on his rivals during today’s key team time trial.

“It’s an important day,” Armstrong said. “It’s important to show that the team is the strongest. I think we’re up against some strong teams.”

Cheered by supporters, cyclists race outside Saint-Michel-Mont-Mercure during the third stage of the Tour de France. Tom Boonen of Belgium won the stage Monday in western France.

On Monday, the Texan rolled along in the middle of the pack and even found time to chat to Zabriskie, his former teammate at U.S. Postal Service.

“Lance was telling me to just enjoy the yellow jersey,” Zabriskie said. “He asked me if he could have a turn.

“It’s nice to be in yellow on the Fourth of July. We can celebrate with some fireworks when I get home, a barbecue, and drink the drinks everyone loves to drink.”

Armstrong could claim the yellow jersey after the team time trial. His Discovery Channel team will start as the favorite, having routed other teams last year.

“Holding onto the lead is going to be really though,” Zabriskie said. “But we have a strong team and we’ll give it our best.”

Armstrong senses he is close to wearing his favorite color again.

“We all know it’s two seconds to take the yellow jersey,” he said “Regardless of how many I’ve had in my day, it’s still a jersey I cherish. I’ll be pedaling hard.”

In the overall standings, Armstrong conserved his advantage over main rivals Jan Ullrich, Alexandre Vinokourov and Ivan Basso – all finishing with Armstrong in the main group. The Texan leads Vinokourov by 51 seconds, Ullrich by 66 and Basso by 84.

Boonen was caught in a group of about eight riders entering the last 100 yards, but then cut through a gap and burst toward the line.

Peter Wrolich of Austria finished second, and Stuart O’Grady of Australia was third. Australia’s Robbie McEwen crossed the line in third place, but organizers ruled he intentionally impeded O’Grady’s path to the finish.

Boonen, who won two sprint stages in last year’s Tour, kept the green jersey as the best sprinter.

“For me it is really good to have the green jersey. … I hope to be able to keep hold of it until Paris,” he said.

Three riders – Erik Dekker, Nicolas Portal and Rubens Bertogliati – broke away early Monday and stayed ahead until Bertogliati was caught with just more than 6 miles left.

Dekker and Portal then struggled to maintain the pace. With 1.9 miles to go, Portal looked over his shoulder to see a swarming mass of riders gathering like an enormous creeping shadow about to engulf him and Dekker.

About 800 yards from the end, sprinters jostled for position near the front. Thor Hushovd, who finished second Sunday, could not find a gap and watched helplessly as Boonen picked the perfect moment to attack.