U.S. Rider Honors Holiday With Stage 3 Win

It somehow seems appropriate that on this most American of all holidays an American would come forward to win a stage of the Tour de France, and today that's exactly what happened. American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo), riding in his third Tour de France, out-sprinted all other riders to the finish line to get his first-ever stage win. This gives American team Garmin-Cervelo back-to-back stage wins, and it keeps Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) in the yellow jersey as race leader for another day.

Finishing second in the 198 kilometer stage 3, from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon, was French rider Romain Feillu (Vacansoliel), and the third place finisher was Spanish rider Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar). Since the riders finished in a pack and all got the same time, the overall race standings did not change. The biggest change today was in the green jersey points for the sprinters, where Rojas has now taken the lead in points.

Tomorrow's stage 4 will be raced from Lorient to Mur-De-Bretagne. It is a rather hilly ride of 172.5 kilometers, with a category 4 climb about midway in the race and a category 3 climb at the finish. The climb at the finish makes this a race that favors the strongest sprinters, and that could mean that Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) can keep the yellow jersey for a third day (since he climbs better than most of the sprinters).

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (INDIVIDUAL LEADER)
1. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)
2. David Millar, Great Britain (Garmin-Cervelo)..........00"
3. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........01"
4. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain (Sky Procycling)..........04"
5. Linus Gerdemann, Germany (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway (Sky Procycling)..........04"
7. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
8. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
9. Jakob Fuglsang, Denmark (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
10. Bradley Wiggins, Great Britain (Sky Procycling)..........04"
11. Manuel Quinziato, Italy (BMC Racing)..........04"
12. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
13. George Hincapie, USA (BMC Racing)..........04"
16. Tejay Van Garderen, USA (HTC-Highroad)..........05"
20. Christopher Horner, USA (Radio Shack)..........10"
22. Levi Leipheimer, USA (Radio Shack)..........10"
69. Alberto Contador, Spain (Saxo Bank)..........1' 42"


GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Movistar)..........65 pts
2. Tyler Farrar, USA (Garmin-Cervelo)..........58 pts
3. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........52 pts
4. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)..........50 pts
5. Romain Feillu, France (Vacansoleil)..........38 pts
6. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........35 pts


POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........1 pt
2. Mickael Delage, France (FDJ)..........1 pt


TEAM STANDINGS
1. Garmin-Cervelo (USA)
2. BMC Racing (USA)..........01"
3. Leopard-Trek (Luxembourg)..........04"
4. Sky Procycling (Great Britain)..........04"
5. HTC Highroad (USA)..........05"
6. Radio Shack (USA)..........10"
7. Astana (Kazakhstan)..........32"
8. Omega-Lotto (Germany)..........33"
9. Europcar (France)..........50"
10. Quick Step (Germany)..........56"