COMPIEGNE, FRANCE - Two-time Tour de France champion Bernard Thevenet defended himself after Lance Armstrong questioned whether he deserved his yellow jerseys any more than Bjarne Riis.

Thevenet, who has admitted to using steroids when he won Tour titles in 1975 and '77, said doping substances were considered to be healthy supplements when he was racing.

"It was thought that just like riders take vitamins, for example, they should take cortisone and anabolic steroids," Thevenet, now a Tour official, said Monday in Dunkirk. "It wasn't to get a boost, but ... to recuperate."

In an interview with Sport magazine published last week, Armstrong criticized Tour director Christian Prudhomme for rebuffing 1996 champion Riis and saying he "has soiled the yellow jersey."

"Did anyone ask Bernard Thevenet to return his two yellow jerseys? Did anyone ask the family of Jacques Anquetil to return his five yellow jerseys?" said Armstrong, a seven-time Tour champion who has been dogged by doping allegations that he has denied.

In May, Riis admitted that he had used the banned performance enhancer EPO throughout the 1990s -- including in his Tour victory.

He said he would return his yellow jersey if asked, and race officials told him he no longer was welcome at the Tour. Riis, who is the director of Team CSC, is not at this year's race.

Thevenet said it was possible that Armstrong's statements weren't translated properly.

"It's surprising from Armstrong, who is someone who always speaks in a well thought-out way," said Thevenet, adding that Armstrong may be exaggerating the circumstances surrounding himself and Anquetil.

"He didn't understand what the situation was at the time," Thevenet said. "Perhaps there's a bit of anti-French [sentiment] in there."

Anquetil, who won the Tour in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964, reportedly used amphetamines and was known to fight anti-doping efforts. He died of cancer in 1987.

INJURY FOR DISCOVERY TEAM: Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel is hoping his team can overcome the loss of sprinter Tomas Vaitkus.

"We have to see if we can get to the mountains without any problem," Bruyneel said Tuesday. "It's definitely a big loss when you have to lose somebody in the first week."

The Lithuanian pulled out of the race after fracturing his right thumb Monday in a crash.

"He was going to be an important guy in the first part of the race," Bruyneel said. "He was there to protect the leaders on the flat stages."

LONGEST DAY: Tuesday's 147-mile stage from Waregem, Belgium, to Compiegne was the longest of this year's Tour, and the wind was no help.

Stage winner Fabian Cancellara crossed the finish line after more than 6 1/2 hours on his bike.

"The wind was making everything different," Cancellara said. "[With] a face wind and from the side. It's a long day to go to the front and kill yourself."

David Millar said the pace was too slow.

"Once the break has gone it's the break that dictates the race," Millar said. "And they were going so slow that we didn't catch them. It's one of those things, two riders who didn't want to go hard."