Stage 3 of the Tour de France commenced today, with the remaining 190 or so rider pitting their wits against each other and the dreaded cobbles of the 213 km stretch used for the Paris-Roubaix race, dubbed “the Hell of the North”. It was a day of high drama, with several crashes on the rocky uneven terrain, the end of the Tour for a disappointed and injured Frank Schleck, the loss of the Yellow Jersey by Chavanel after a desperately unlucky outing, requiring three bike changes. Elsewhere it was a day of unexpected winners and losers, and the day the Tour crossed into its home territory of France. The stage was won by Thor Hushovd, the Norwegian Champion in a finish that saw a great sprint after the disappointing neutralisation of Stage 2, and this win propelled Hushovd into the Green Jersey, as he is now the Points Leader.
The first phase of the day’s racing saw a breakaway at about 13 km out, led by Hesjedal (GRM), and joined by a group consisting of Auge (COF), Brutt (KAT), Cummings (SKY), Erviti (GCE), Kluge (MRM) and Rolland (BTL). They stretched out, and were allowed to escape by the peloton since this leading pack didn’t contain any of the big guns. With cobbles featuring seven times throughout the route, the order of the day was to stay at the front, to avoid any unwanted crashes. The teams leading the peloton switched during the first half of the race, with Quickstep taking on the responsibility in a rapidly moving chase to catch the escapees. Rabobank took over to pick up the pace, before Sky made a move, but it was RadioShack which led the group into the cobbles. As the race continued in the final kilometers of Belgium, it was Saxo Bank and Cervelo which took the initiative.
Once into French territory, the race situation had altered, and then a devastating crash saw Frank Schleck retired from the Tour, and also led to the fragmentation of the peloton as riders sought to gain advantage. The initial escape group had been caught except for Hesjedal, who pushed hard. With Schleck now out, Cancellara kicked and took Saxo Bank team mate Andy Schleck with him, hoping to stretch the field and gain time on Contador, who was in a separate group over a minute behind, with Armstrong’s group just in front. By this stage, Chavanel had already punctured and been forced to change bike several times, and this was to lose him his Yellow Jersey within 24 hours of winning it.
By the last section, Hesjedal had been overcome by the elite team chasing him, and they formed the sprint finish, with Hushovd taking his first stage victory of the Tour, followed closely by Thomas, Evans, Hesjedal and Andy Schleck, Cancellara racing in as part of a separate group in sixth, which saw him take the Yellow Jersey from Chavanel.
(Photo of Thor Hushovd, by Paul Hermans. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)
The standings after Stage 3 are left looking like this:
1. Cancellara (SAX)
2. Thomas (SKY)
3. Evans (BMC)
4. Hesjedal (GRM)
5. Chavanel (QST)
6. Schleck (SAX)
7. Hushovd (CTT)
8. Vinokourov (AST)
9. Contador (AST)
10. Van Den Broeck (SIL)
1. Hushovd
2. Thomas
3. Evans
4. Hesjedal
5. Schleck
6. Cancellara
7. Van Summeren
8. Wiggins
9. Van Den Broeck
10. Vinokourov
So it’s all change with their cycle shirts after today, with the Yellow Jersey returning to Cancellara, the Green Jersey now on the shoulders of Hushovd, and an awesome performance by Welshman Geraint Thomas nets him the Youth Competition’s White Jersey. Perhaps the biggest losers of the day were Armstrong, Frank Schleck and Contador, although Contador had a very good ride today, and he will emerge later on.
Tomorrow sees the riders take on one of the short stages at 153.5 km from Cambrai to Reims.
