Armstrong completes first stage at Tour Down Under

ADELAIDE, Australia -- Lance Armstrong contended with fierce heat in his first road race in three years Tuesday, finishing in the back of the pack in the first stage of the Tour Down Under.

Temperatures soared to 102 degrees as the field of 33 riders raced through undulating hill country in rural South Australia.

"That was tough, and this is the day they said is going to be the easy day," said Armstrong, who has a home in Aspen, Colo.

Defending tour champion Andre Greipel of Germany won the stage, 86 miles from Norwood to Mawson Lakes north of Adelaide, in a bunch sprint.

Thousands of spectators lined the streets of small towns or stood outside remote farmhouses to cheer as Armstrong passed.

The six-stage ProTour race ends Sunday.

The 37-year-old Armstrong, a testicular cancer survivor, made his return to professional cycling to help raise awareness of the disease