ADELAIDE, Australia — Lance Armstrong avoided a serious crash which ended the race for eight cyclists during Thursday's third stage of the Tour Down Under.

Strong winds, hills and a helicopter also tested Armstrong's patience and stamina in his comeback race after three years in retirement. For the third straight day, Armstrong finished among the main pack.

He was officially 32nd of the 124 riders who finished the 82-mile stage but had the same time as the winner, Graeme Brown of Australia.

The seven-time Tour de France champion was fortunate to miss a crash at the 8-mile mark which ruled eight riders out for the remainder of the race, including defending champion and first-stage winner Andre Greipel, the leading rider for US-based Team Columbia.

Greipel suffered a dislocated shoulder and will not continue. Australian Allan Davis, the tour leader after the second stage Wednesday, was also brought down but remounted his bike and finished second in the stage to share the lead with Brown on general classification.

"We've lost more riders in this one stage than we've lost in the 10-year history of the race," race director Mike Turtur said.

After three of six stages, Armstrong was officially 39th overall and 29 seconds behind Davis, who retained the leader's ochre jersey.

Strong winds provided riders with the stiffest test of the tour so far as they raced through a series of grueling hill climbs from suburban Unley in Adelaide's north to seaside Victor Harbor on its rugged southern coast.

Armstrong again made a strong impression, taking part in a 16-man breakaway which led the stage from the 8.7-mile mark to the 63-mile mark. A lack of organization and cooperation among leading riders prevented the attack from being more decisive, and perhaps denied Armstrong a chance for his first stage win.

Armstrong said the winds severely tested the stamina and skill of all the riders.

"It was hard," he said. "It wasn't a consistent wind. It was really swirling."

Armstrong, 37, was satisfied with his own form. He looked composed and comfortable in staying with the leading group for more than 50 miles, riding strongly on the hills and remaining prominent in a bunched sprint to the finish.

"It felt all right," he said. "The high-end intensity I don't have yet, that's the bottom line.

"All in all, I guess the kind of stuff I have to do (to get race fit), I need to do in the race. I've got to work that high end. Like I've said 100 times, I can't do that in training."

Armstrong was disturbed during the race by a helicopter, filming the progress of the stage, which swept low over the riders at times and added to the effects of the gusting wind.

He called for the helicopter to back off to give some relief to the lead group as it struggled to preserve a peak lead of 1 minute, 30 seconds.

"It was like a big wind sitting on top of you because it was swirling so much," Armstrong said.

"I was saying (to the helicopter) you can get the same shot if you just pull up a few hundred meters. No offense to the helicopter, but you don't need that, especially when it's windy.

"For the little guys, with the (lightweight) rims these days and with the big gusts, the next stop is New Zealand for them."

The opening ProTour event of the season ends Sunday.