Armstrong In 2nd Place Overall

Lance Armstrong finished 39th in the sixth stage of the Tour de France on Friday, retaining second place overall behind U.S. Postal Service teammate Victor Hugo Pena.

Armstrong, trying for a record-tying fifth straight Tour win, chose to conserve energy for the punishing mountain stages that begin Saturday.

The team's goal is to help Armstrong match the record held by Spain's Miguel Indurain, said Pena, who held on to the overall leader's yellow jersey.

"Tomorrow the Tour is really going to start, we're going into the Alps," Pena said. "I'm going to do my job as a teammate to make sure Lance wins his fifth Tour de France."

Saturday's 140.12-mile stage from Lyon to the ski resort of Morzine-Avoriaz is the first of three days of alpine ascents. Four others come later in the Pyrenees.

Alessandro Petacchi won Friday's stage to claim his fourth victory in six legs.

Petacchi, an Italian who rides for Fassa Bortolo, finished 142.6-mile run from Nevers to Lyon in 5 hours, 8 minutes and 35 seconds as temperatures reached 90 degrees.

In the final yards, Petacchi surged past Australian Baden Cooke of FDJeux.com and Fabrizio Guidi, an Italian who rides for Team Bianchi.

The stage, the second-longest of the Tour, included an undulating hill climb of medium difficulty that offers a taste of what awaits riders in the forbidding Alps.

On Saturday, Petacchi will wear the green jersey - awarded to the fastest sprinter. He said that if he gets over the Alps, he hopes to retain the jersey all the way to the finish in Paris on July 27.

"I know it's something very special what I'm doing here," said Petacchi, who also won sprint finishes in the first, third and fifth stages. "It's really historic."

Friday's climb up the 2,336-foot Cote des Echarmeaux, 44 miles from the finish in Lyon, was barely a bump compared to some of the ascents ahead, including the 8,728-foot Col du Galibier looming Sunday.

Petacchi said he was tired throughout the stage, but his teammates helped shield him from the wind, enabling him to stay with the pack for a sprint finish.

"My companions have again done an extraordinary job," he said. "They brought me into a front position in the descent from the hills for the sprint - and I thank them.

"I don't know where I got the energy because I was going flat-out. But when I see the finish line my strength comes back."

About six miles from the finish, German rider Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen - two of the best sprinters in the Tour - got entangled and briefly fell off their bikes. Neither was hurt and both rejoined the race.

McEwen finished 164th, while Zabel was 181, more than seven minutes off Petacchi's time.

By John Leicester