Matthew Goss of Australia took the overall lead in the Paris-Nice race after winning Tuesday’s third stage, beating Heinrich Haussler and Denis Galimzyanov in a sprint finish in which several cyclists crashed.
Slovakia’s Peter Sagan fell after the final turn on Tuesday when his back wheel skidded, causing French cyclist Yoann Offredo and at least one other rider to crash.
Goss got his wheel in front and the HTC-Highroad rider held on to win. Sagan was left with cuts to his left arm and leg. Offredo’s FDJ team said he had bruising on his hip and elbow.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s terrific. Yesterday it was close, today I had a good run,” said Goss, the runner-up in the second stage behind Greg Henderson.
“It was unfortunate that there was a fall, but to me it was perfect. To get a stage for the team was the No. 1 goal. The jersey is a bonus,” Goss said. “There were tight corners in the finale and I was a little far back in the chicane, but in the end I had a good run. The crash disrupted the sprint a little bit but it was all right for me.”
Goss was timed in 5 hours, 16 minutes, 48 seconds over the 202km trek from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Goss replaced Thomas De Gendt of Belgium as the overall leader heading into yesterday’s 191km fourth stage from Creches-sur-Saone to Belleville.
De Gendt is 2 seconds back, while Haussler is 6 seconds behind in third.
Cedric Pineau, Blel Kadri, Jussi Veikkanen, Cyril Gautier and Romain Hardy broke away early to open up a big advantage in perfect racing conditions, with mild temperatures, clear skies and little wind.
Their lead was slashed to three minutes with 50km remaining, then just over a minute with 30km to go. After a category 2 climb near the end, it was down to a handful of seconds.
French rider Thomas Voeckler was the first to attack. He overtook four of the front five but Kadri stayed with him. However, they were both overtaken with 5km remaining.
Half a dozen Liquigas-Cannondale riders moved to the front, looking to put Sagan in an ideal place to launch an attack over the final stretch.
Misjudging a tight turn, Sagan lost control, his front wheel knocking down another rider as he fell.
Belgian rider Gert Steegmans crashed after taking a turn too wide. But the former Paris-Nice stage winner was able to continue after changing bikes.
Sylvain Chavanel of France changed a tire after a puncture near the end and just managed to catch up in time.
Argentina’s Lucas Sebastian Haedo did not start after being knocked over by a police motorbike a day earlier. His team said he hurt his knee and needed stitches.
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