MOGOLLON, N.M. — Lance Armstrong felt some jitters at the start Wednesday, when he saddled up for his first race since breaking a collarbone during a crash in Spain last month.

He left satisfied after the opening stage of the five-day Tour of the Gila. He came to New Mexico, he said, to regain a feel for the peleton, work at racing pace and boost his conditioning for the Giro d'Italia, which begins May 9.

"You definitely feel stiff or blocked a little bit," Armstrong said after his eighth-place finish. "That's to be expected. You can train those intense intervals but it doesn't replicate a race."

Armstrong only spent about 20 miles during the 94-mile race from Silver City to Mogollon in the lead group. His tactical mission was helping teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer on a big finishing climb.

"Getting the rythym, the speed, getting some accelerations in a peleton," said Armstrong's boss, Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel. "Also, we're looking at how he feels. Today, he felt good. He did some work for Levi until Levi could launch his attack."

Leipheimer won in an unofficial time of 4 hours, 41.02 seconds. Armstrong was clocked unofficially at 4:42.43.

Afterward, the seven-time Tour de France champion reported no concerns with the collarbone and said it hasn't bothered him for weeks. Asked to calculate where his recovery stands, he said that was difficult.

"Better than I thought I would be," he replied. "I feel strong. I feel like the recovery has been good. Those are the things you need. Getting lighter is another thing you need. It's working out so far."

The course crossed the Continental Divide just outside Silver City and dropped through rolling ranchland characterized by undulating hills of yucca, yellow grass and olive-colored juniper bushes.

Then came the demanding climb to Mogollon. The route featured an 11 percent grade over the final three miles, which narrowed to a single-vehicle width and a summit elevation of 6,794 feet.

"Typical climb in the states when it's inconsistent," Armstrong said. "You know, some steep pieces, some flat pieces. The pavement was rough. It was hard. Obviously, you have high elevation. It was tough."

Although Bruyneel made the trip, Armstrong is riding with Astana teammates Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner as independents, wearing jerseys representing Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's bike shop in Austin, Texas.

Armstrong has been out of competition since his fall during the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon on March 23. He had surgery two days later to stabilize the injury with a steel plate and 12 screws.

"There's so much hardware in there, it's not going to move," he joked.

Armstrong admitted feeling a little nervousness early in Wednesday's race, especially when two riders crashed.

"Downhill start, everybody's fresh," he said. "I think the race has (had) a lot of attention in the last few days, so guys want to be in the front, want to be competitive. That's to be expected. You just try to watch out for those things and anticipate crashes in front of you."

Armstrong has enjoyed a healthy career in a dangerous sport. Although he broke a neck vertebra during training for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, it didn't sideline him and he won a bronze medal in the time trial.

The crash in Spain, though, was a different experience. Armstrong said he'd never had such a significant injury.

"Mentally, it was a shock to me," he said. "Then of course with that you have the obvious side effects — pain, time off the bike and psychologically you're 37 years old, laying in a ditch in Spain. You're going, 'OK, what am I doing?'

"But it's come back pretty good. I'm having fun still."

Armstrong said he's still focused on the Tour de France. Along with Leipheimer and Horner, he will rejoin the Astana squad next week.

"We'll see how it goes here. We'll see how it goes in Italy," Armstrong said. "Then the month of June in the states, training and preparing for the Tour. That's the granddaddy of them all. We'll go there and ride as fast as we can."