ALENCON, France -- Lance Armstrong let others do the sprinting in the Tour de France on Friday.

	Lance Armstrong is still pacing himself for the Tour's later stages.

Armstrong, seeking a fourth straight Tour title, finished the sixth stage in 72nd place, in the same time as winner Erik Zabel of Germany.

The 30-year-old Armstrong is expected to concentrate on his strengths -- individual time trials and mountain stages.

"You won't see Lance attacking in these flat stages and wasting his energy,'' said Jogi Muller, spokesman for Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team. "With his capabilities, you don't want to take the risk of having a crash in a sprint.''

The next time trial is Monday, and the first of six mountain stages in the 21-day Tour takes place Thursday.

Zabel, of the Telekom team, won the 123.7-mile run through the cow pastures and red-brick villages of Normandy from Forges-les-Eaux to Alencon in 4 hours, 23 minutes and 7 seconds.

Spain's Oscar Freire, of the Mapei team, was second and Australia's Robbie McEwen finished third, each with the same time.

Stage 6 glance

Stage 6: A 123.69-mile stretch through Normandy from Forges-les-Eaux to Alencon. How others fared: Spain's Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, of Once, and three-time champion Lance Armstrong of U.S. Postal Service finished in a pack of 181 other riders that finished with the same time. Gonzalez Galdeano retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, with teammate Joseba Beloki second, four seconds behind. Armstrong is third, seven seconds off the leader's pace. Quote of the day: "You won't see Lance attacking in these flat stages and wasting his energy. With his capabilities, you don't want to take the risk of having a crash in a sprint.'' -- U.S. Postal spokesman Jogi Muller after Zabel's sprint finish toward the stage victory. Next stage: A 109.1 mile stretch through the Normandy battlefields of World War II from Bagnoles-de-L'Orne to Avranches.

Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, of Spain's Once team, retained the yellow jersey of overall leader. Armstrong remained third overall, 7 seconds behind Gonzalez Galdeano.

The 89th Tour is going according to plan for U.S. Postal Service team.

Johan Bruyneel, team leader of USPS, is "happy that Once has to carry the race'' by holding the yellow jersey through the early, flat stages, Muller said.

The win was Zabel's 12th stage victory in the Tour, following two second-place finishes in sprints. He won three stages in last year's race.

"This is really a nice victory for me,'' said Zabel, who crossed the finish line in the green jersey worn by the Tour's best overall sprinter. "The competition for this sprint, and the green jersey, is really tough.''

Zabel, one of the world's best sprinters, is looking to claim the green jersey for a record seventh straight year.

Riders pushed the pace from the start Friday, and a group of five breakaway riders held the lead for about 37 miles. The main pack caught the leaders less than a half-hour before the finish.

The riders averaged 28.2 mph for the stage.

"Lance said this was a fast race. The mood was initially a little nervous, with a lot of wind,'' Muller said.

Alessio rider Alexandr Shefer of Kazakhstan was hospitalized after crashing 15 miles from the finish.

A crash on Thursday forced two cyclists to quit the race. Lampre rider Marco Pinotti returned to Italy with two chipped teeth, a broken nose and a cut on his upper lip that required 11 stitches. Belgium's Rik Verbrugghe broke his right collarbone.

Conditions were cool and overcast Friday, and cyclists had a brief rain shower near the final stretch. Thousands of fans, including cattle and sheep farmers, lined the route to watch riders speed by on the flat course.

Saturday's seventh stage is a 109-mile run through the Normandy battlefields of World War II from Bagnoles-de-L'Orne to Avranches.