The third stage of the 99th Tour de France was the first one contested on French soil after the Grand Départ in Belgium. It was a 197km stage from Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer that featured six categorized climbs, including four in the closing 16km.
On the steep final climb Poels was the first to surge in to the lead but then came a surge from Albasini who led around the second last turn, just near the top, but his bid for the stage win ended when Sagan started his sprint. Westra got tangled up with a Katusha rider and crashed to the ground, holding up a number of riders but by then Sagan had pounced ahead to cross the line first. Sagan was so fast that there was daylight between him and the next-best rider, Edvald Boasson Hagen. He danced his way across the line in what he called an homage to Forest Gump. Sgan's victory increases his led in the points classification.
Cancellara was strong at the finish and claimed fourth place and will continue to wear the yellow jersey.
"It was a difficult stage with the sort of finale that could only be won if you had “good” legs," Sagan explained. "I’m very, very happy about this win. No victory is easy and if I win, it’s also because of my teammates. It’s an honor to know that champions like Basso and Nibali are working for me; it’s something that gives you massive drive. We’d planned the final attack in this morning’s meeting, even though I didn’t know what the climb would really be like. It was important to get the timing right and even more important to have enough energy. This second win is incredible because I came to France hoping to win one stage and I’ve already doubled that in four days. I’m really satisfied and it’s an incentive to believe in the dream of wearing the green jersey to Paris. A third win? I always try to win and I’ll have another go if I get the chance."
One final comment about his celebration, "The other evening my teammates and I decided that if I won again, I’d do it like Forrest Gump: when they told him to run, he ran; when they tell me to win, I win. I like doing something that makes people smile. When I watch sport on the TV, I’ve always liked it when someone adds a touch of fun to their victories, like Valentino Rossi does. Now that I’m winning, I try to do the same thing."
There were two crashes today that resulted in the first retirements: At the 140km mark that was a crashed that forced Sivtsov to retire. At 168 km another crash forced Rojas to retire.
Morkov, out in front all day in a small escape group collecting points for his polka dot jersey, was caught with only 500 m to go.
Tomorrow: Stage 4, Abbeville-Rouen, 214.5 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux:
"The fourth stage, the fifth day of racing, but I am sure there will already be some gaps, proving that the prologue, the finish in Seraing and, most importantly, the finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer have made an impact. Today, we continue with one of the longest stages in the Tour, with 214.5 km between Abbeville and Rouen. We will obviously seize the opportunity to pay tribute to Jacques Anquetil. We will also emphasise the touristic aspect of the Tour by riding down the Alabaster coast for a long time and enjoying its breathtaking landscapes and light effects."
GC:
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 14:45:30
2 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:07
3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10
5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:11
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:13
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:17
8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:18
9 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp
10 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:19
11 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:21
12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:22
13 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
14 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
15 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:23
16 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
17 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
18 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:24
19 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
20 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:25
21 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
22 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:26
23 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:00:28
24 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:29
25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
26 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:35
27 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team
28 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:37
29 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
30 Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:38
31 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
32 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:40
33 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team 0:00:42
34 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
35 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:00:43
36 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:45
37 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
38 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:00:47
39 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:48
40 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:53
41 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
42 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:00:54
43 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team 0:00:57
44 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:01:00
45 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:01
46 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:24
47 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:01:29
48 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:30
49 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan 0:01:38
50 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 0:01:41
51 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
52 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 0:01:42
53 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:55
54 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 0:02:03
55 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:02:09
56 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:02:22
57 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:27
58 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:02:29
59 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:02:40
60 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:02:46
61 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:02:52
62 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:02:54
63 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:59
64 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:03:08
65 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:03:17
66 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:03:18
67 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 0:03:34
68 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:03:44
69 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
70 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:03:50
71 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 0:04:01
72 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:04:03
73 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:04:04
74 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
75 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:04:10
76 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:04:14
77 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:04:15
78 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:04:18
79 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:04:21
80 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:04:30
81 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:04:47
82 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:04:58
83 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:59
84 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:12
85 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:05:16
86 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:05:24
87 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 0:05:28
88 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:06:00
89 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:06:20
90 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:06:22
91 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:06:23
92 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:06:29
93 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:06:30
94 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:32
95 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 0:06:43
96 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 0:06:54
97 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:07:02
98 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
99 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
100 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:07:05
101 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 0:07:12
102 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:07:29
103 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:07:46
104 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:07:58
105 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 0:08:03
106 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale
107 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
108 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:08:04
109 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:08:12
110 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:08:19
111 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:08:28
112 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:32
113 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar 0:08:34
114 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:08:35
115 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:08:36
116 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team
117 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:08:46
118 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:08:47
119 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
120 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 0:08:48
121 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 0:08:49
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:56
123 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team
124 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 0:08:59
125 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:13
126 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:09:41
127 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:09:42
128 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 0:09:47
129 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:09:50
130 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:09:56
131 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:09:57
132 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:10:03
133 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:10:10
134 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:10:16
135 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:10:17
136 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
137 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat 0:10:22
138 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:10:25
139 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar 0:10:30
140 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:10:32
141 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:10:36
142 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:10:43
143 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:10:45
144 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:10:53
145 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:10:57
146 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:11:05
147 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
148 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:11:07
149 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:11:09
150 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:11:33
151 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:11:38
152 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:11:43
153 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 0:11:45
154 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:11:50
155 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:11:51
156 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
157 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD 0:11:59
158 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 0:12:11
159 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp
160 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:12:14
161 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
162 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 0:12:21
163 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre - ISD 0:12:32
164 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:12:45
165 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:12:52
166 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:12:54
167 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 0:12:55
168 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 0:12:59
169 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:13:00
170 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Sharp 0:13:04
171 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 0:13:13
172 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:13:26
173 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:13:43
174 Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre - ISD 0:13:56
175 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:14:33
176 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:14:48
177 Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:14:51
178 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:15:03
179 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:15:11
180 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:15:21
181 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
182 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:15:56
183 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:15:57
184 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:16:48
185 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:16:51
186 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:17:02
187 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 0:18:03
188 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:18:26
189 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:19:10
190 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:19:30
191 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:19:38
192 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:19:41
193 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:22:53
194 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:23:11
195 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:27:45
196 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:30:05
Photos: Peter Sagan byBettini; polka dot podium photo by Sirotti
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