Voight retains the yellow jersey

Levi Leipheimer, front left, Jens Voigt in the yellow jersey for the overall leader, center, and Linus Gerdemann power ahead during stage three of the Tour of Germany in Offenburg, Germany, on Sunday. PHOTO: EPA

Erik Zabel won the third stage of the Tour of Germany in a mass sprint to the finish line, and Jens Voigt of Germany retained the yellow jersey.

Zabel, a 37-year-old Team Milran rider from Germany, finished the 181.8km race in 4 hours, 49 minutes, 25 seconds. Joaquin Rojas of Spain was second and Bradley McGee of Australia was third in the same time.

Voigt, the defending champion, kept the leader's yellow jersey with a total time of 10 hours, 5 minutes, 20 seconds, one second ahead of five CSC teammates. They took the lead with a win in Friday's team time trial.

Both Voigt and race favorite Levi Leipheimer believe that the tour will be decided today in an Alpine stage to Soelden with a 2,671m climb.

"I'm a little scared of that stage. We'll see how I do," Voigt said.

Leipheimer, who finished third at the Tour de France, passed Jan Ullrich on the climb two years ago to win the Tour of Germany. He is 27 seconds behind Voigt.

"The Rettenbachferner will decide the Tour," Leipheimer said of today's stage.

Zabel took advantage of Gerald Ciolek's near accident to win a stage in the race for the 13th time in his career. The German led in the sprint to the finish until his foot slid off the pedal and almost knocked him into the pack of riders.