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| Garmin-Cervelo team rider Tyler Farrar of the US (C) celebrates as he sprints ahead of Vacansoleil-DCM team rider Romain Feillu of France (L) and Movistar team rider Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain (R) to win the 3rd stage of the Tour De France cycling race between Olonne-sur-Mer and Redon , Western France yesterday. (EPA |
American Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Cervelo upstaged the hopes of British sprint rival Mark Cavendish on his way to a maiden Tour de France victory on the third stage yesterday.
World champion Thor Hushovd of Norway kept possession of the race leader’s yellow jersey as Garmin celebrated their second win on the trot, having won the 23km team time trial at Les Essarts on Sunday.
Cavendish, who has won a record 15 stages in the past three years, had a powerful lead-in to the finale by his dominant HTC-Highroad team.
However the Isle of Man rider found the going tough after a final bend forced many riders to slow down and lose momentum. Despite a late burst, he could only finish fifth.
“I’m very disappointed. We took it on and we were left just a bit short with too far to go,” said Cavendish, who complained that eventual stage runner-up Romain Feillu had been like a “kamikaze”.
“I was fighting with (Jose Joaquin) Rojas into the last corner and kamikaze Feillu came flying in. He causes havoc in every sprint. He took me out on the last corner.”
Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas rounded the bend on his own, but with no teammates to follow up he was soon swamped by Garmin as Hushovd and New Zealander Julian Dean dragged Farrar towards the finish.
Vacansoleil’s Feillu and Movistar rider Rojas launched late charges, but Farrar came over the finish half a bike length clear.
“It’s fantastic, I’ve been working to get this for a long time,” said Farrar.
“It’s the first mass sprint of the Tour, and it’s always a bit chaotic. But the team almost made it easy for me.
“We showed yesterday how strong our team is, winning the team time trial. It was a relief, and took the pressure off the shoulders.
“It just keeps on getting better now.”
Although his win came on America’s Independence Day, Farrar—who made a ‘W’ gesture shortly after crossing the line—immediately dedicated the victory to stricken friend Wouter Weylandt of Belgium.
Leopard-Trek team rider Weylandt was one of Farrar’s best friends, but crashed to his death in the Giro d’Italia in early May.
“It’s been a horrible past few months,” said the American.
“In the end I wanted to come back and do something to pay tribute.”
On one of the few flat finishes of the first week all eyes had been on Cavendish, and his HTC-Highroad team played a big role in helping drive the pace as the bunch launched an ultimately successful pursuit of an early breakaway.
The tricky 1.1km climb over the Saint Nazaire bridge with 56.5km to race, combined with treacherous crosswinds, forced a split in the peloton—leaving yellow jersey contender Ivan Basso stranded for several kilometres in a small chase group.
After some more frantic chasing, with 9km to go the last two remnants of the five-man escape, Spaniard Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar) and Frenchman Mickael Delage (FDJ) were caught.
Despite HTC taking over with 4km to race with German Tony Martin and Australians Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw leading Cavendish in, their plans began to unfold when Lampre’s Danilo Hondo pulled off the front on a small rise.
Further chaos ensued when a Vacansoleil rider countered his move and was only caught with 1km to go.
The final bend then did the rest, with Cavendish admitting he was lucky to stay upright.
“I was off my front wheel round the last corner. I thought I was down at one point but I managed to keep upright,” added the Manxman, who battled to close the gap in the final 500 metres before finishing fifth.