Italian Matteo Carrara won the Tour of Luxembourg with Lance Armstrong ending third in the overall standings on Sunday.
The fourth and last stage, which was shortened becasue of torrential rain, was won by Spaniard Gorka Izaguirre in a sprint. Carrara claimed his first major win ahead of 2009 winner Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.
“I’m so happy, it’s a beautiful victory, my best victory,” the 31-year-old Carrara said.
Armstrong, who had a verbal altercation with a spectator after the race, was competing as part of his preparations for the Tour de France.
The race was neutralized in the last of the local loops in Luxembourg, about 10 kilometers from the finish, allowing riders who were not aiming for the stage victory to join the back of the peloton.
“I just wanted to avoid issues, or problems, or crashes, or accident,” Armstrong said. “I think we have to make a good progression from here, to Switzerland and the Tour.” Armstrong was loudly cheered by local fans after the race but he got involved in an exchange with one man who called him a “liar” and a “cheat”.
Armstrong, who won the race in 1998 when he came back from cancer, had started the Luxembourg event with a solid performance in Wednesday’s prologue before losing ground in the second stage when Carrara and defending champion Frank Schleck attacked in the last climb. Schleck finished second overall, one second behind Carrara.