Join us tonight for live coverage of Stage 3 of the 2012 Tour de France. The 197-kilometer stage runs from Orchies to Boulognes-Sur-Mer. Live coverage will begin at 8:30PM AEST with updates throughout the stage.
Relatively speaking, the stage can be classified as flat, but with six categorised climbs in the final 65km and an uphill finish, it is not a race for your traditional sprinter.
There are four category four climbs and two category three climbs that come after the one and only sprint point of the race, which is at kilometer 119. The final climb to the finish is 700m long at 7.4 percent.
Depending on the size of the break, I would expect team Liquigas to attempt once again to put Peter Sagan in position to pick up intermediate sprint points to extend his lead on the green jersey. He currently has 78 point, with Mark Cavendish in second place with 63.
Cavendish is likely to contest the points, but with Team Sky working for Wiggins, he may have to do some more train hopping to pick up points at the intermediate sprint.
The finish of stage three, like stage one, favors a classics rider. The likes of Philipe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Cadel Evans and Peter Sagan are the riders to watch. All of these riders have something to gain in tonight’s stage.
Philipe Gilbert is still looking for last year’s form and this could be an opportunity for him to prove he’s back in full force. He finished fourth on similar terrain in stage one and is definitely looking to improve on that performance.
Cadel Evans may try to gain a few seconds on Wiggins with a late attack and a bit of separation from the field on the final climb to the finish. He’s only 10 seconds down on the Brit.
Fabial Cancellara’s goal is simple, keep yellow for another day. Having seen him defend it on stage one, I’m confident he will be somewhere near the finish of stage three. However, team Radioshack-Nissan will have to do a better job of working for Cancellara and helping him near the finish if he’s to win.
Other riders to watch are Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky, Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, and Sylvain Chavanel, who won the 2011 French championships in Boulogne-Sur-Mer. Look for him to try to break away late on one of the climbs.
My pick for stage three is Peter Sagan. He seems to excel on this type of terrain where traditional sprinters fall off the back and has been on phenomenal form since the Tour of California.
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The Crowd Says (103) | Page 1 of Comments
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1:31am
vitalyg said | 1:31am | Report comment
Join me tomorrow for Stage 4. Good night!
1:26am
vitalyg said | 1:26am | Report comment
Top 5 on the stage
1. Peter Sagan (SLO) LIQ 4h42’58″
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) SKY at 1″
3. Peter Velits (SVK) OPQ at 1″
4. Fabian Cancellara (SUI) RNT at 1″
5. Michael Albasini (SUI) OGE at 1″
1:28am
vitalyg said | 1:28am | Report comment
Top 10 in the overall:
1. CANCELLARA Fabian 12 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 14h 45′ 39”
2. CHAVANEL Sylvain 192 OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 14h 45′ 46” 00′ 07”
3. WIGGINS Bradley 101 SKY PROCYCLING 14h 45′ 46” 00′ 07”
4. VAN GARDEREN Tejay 9 BMC RACING TEAM 14h 45′ 49” 00′ 10”
5. BOASSON HAGEN Edvald 102 SKY PROCYCLING 14h 45′ 50” 00′ 11”
6. GILBERT Philippe 4 BMC RACING TEAM 14h 45′ 52” 00′ 13”
7. MENCHOV Denis 131 KATUSHA TEAM 14h 45′ 52” 00′ 13”
8. EVANS Cadel 1 BMC RACING TEAM 14h 45′ 56” 00′ 17”
9. HESJEDAL Ryder 61 GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 14h 45′ 57” 00′ 18”
10. NIBALI Vincenzo 51 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 14h 45′ 57” 00′ 18”
1:22am
vitalyg said | 1:22am | Report comment
Huge crash toward the end. And Sagan easily wins!
1:24am
vitalyg said | 1:24am | Report comment
Will get the stage and overall standings in a bit. But with that win, Sagan is now in solid green. Where was Cav again?
1:22am
vitalyg said | 1:22am | Report comment
He’s caught. It’s now anyone’s game
1:20am
vitalyg said | 1:20am | Report comment
Chavanel looks like he’s cracking.
1:21am
vitalyg said | 1:21am | Report comment
Under 1k and he’s still in the lead. He’s about to get caught.
1:19am
vitalyg said | 1:19am | Report comment
Chavanel is flying. 3km to go for him. Remember, Chavanel won here in 2011 French championships.
1:20am
vitalyg said | 1:20am | Report comment
He has 7 seconds with 2km to go.
1:16am
vitalyg said | 1:16am | Report comment
Sylvain Chavanel goes for it. He needs 7 seconds for yellow.
1:17am
vitalyg said | 1:17am | Report comment
5km to go, has he gone too early?
1:18am
vitalyg said | 1:18am | Report comment
BMC now chasing.
1:15am
vitalyg said | 1:15am | Report comment
Correction. Valverde is in the main group.
1:14am
vitalyg said | 1:14am | Report comment
Basso now setting a high pace on the climb and Grivko is almost caught, only a few seconds of space between him and the main field.
1:14am
vitalyg said | 1:14am | Report comment
He’s caught. All together.
1:12am
vitalyg said | 1:12am | Report comment
Gap is down to 15 seconds with less than 8km to the finish. Looks like Valverde is also off the back.
1:12am
vitalyg said | 1:12am | Report comment
Morkov blew up! Grivko keeps going as a solo break. Only a matter of time for him.
1:09am
vitalyg said | 1:09am | Report comment
Morkov has picked up another point. And it has now started to rain with 10km left to go in the race. Gap to the break down to 28 seconds.
1:07am
vitalyg said | 1:07am | Report comment
12km to go, gap to under 40 seconds. The break will likely be caught on the penultimate climb, and then fireworks could fly!
1:05am
vitalyg said | 1:05am | Report comment
The break is now on the 4th climb of the day. Morkov has really built a lead to hold onto his climber’s jersey as long as possible.
1:02am
vitalyg said | 1:02am | Report comment
15km to go, 45 seconds to the remaining two men in the break.
1:00am
vitalyg said | 1:00am | Report comment
Main field is about to get squeezed into a very narrow climb.
1:01am
vitalyg said | 1:01am | Report comment
Morkov gets the points again.
12:57am
vitalyg said | 12:57am | Report comment
BMC keeping Cadel near the front. RSN is still there setting pace. Meanwhile the break is starting to attack each other, with Grivko setting a high pace up the climb.
12:58am
vitalyg said | 12:58am | Report comment
Minard is done. Morkov is staying in it with Grivko.
12:56am
vitalyg said | 12:56am | Report comment
The field now moving at 50kph and the gap to the break is coming down. Samuel Sanchez is having some sort of a bike issue.
12:54am
vitalyg said | 12:54am | Report comment
Minute and a half between the leading group and the chasing group. Then it’s 1:09 from the leading group to the break.
12:51am
vitalyg said | 12:51am | Report comment
Big group of riders got caught out by the last crash, now chasing back. Among them Voeckler, Cavendish, Hoogerland, Hunter, Farrar.
12:53am
Darryl Kotyk said | 12:53am | Report comment
It’s looking like an interesting finish. Great coverage as always, Vitaly.
12:47am
vitalyg said | 12:47am | Report comment
With 26km to go, the break of 4 still has about 2 minutes on the main field.
12:46am
vitalyg said | 12:46am | Report comment
Philippe Gilbert is having some sort of shoe problem, he’s back at the BMC car.
12:43am
vitalyg said | 12:43am | Report comment
Another crash. Farrar, Hunter, and others go down.
12:45am
vitalyg said | 12:45am | Report comment
Gerrans and Rojas also in the crash. Farrar now being paced back.
12:48am
vitalyg said | 12:48am | Report comment
Rojas is the second abandonment of the tour. We’re down to 196 riders.
12:38am
vitalyg said | 12:38am | Report comment
Riders getting popped left and right on the steep climb.
12:40am
vitalyg said | 12:40am | Report comment
Peloton makes it over the cat 3 climb. 2 climbs down, 4 to go with 30km left to race.
12:43am
vitalyg said | 12:43am | Report comment
Kittel was one of the riders dropped.
12:37am
vitalyg said | 12:37am | Report comment
Looks like Berdaudeau was popped from the break. Four men now in the lead with 2:10.
12:37am
vitalyg said | 12:37am | Report comment
Morkov gets 3pts for being first over the top again.
12:33am
vitalyg said | 12:33am | Report comment
Liquigas on the front setting the pace, they clearly like Sagan’s chances on today’s stage.
12:28am
vitalyg said | 12:28am | Report comment
With just under 40km to go, the gap is down to 2:29. The break is about to hit the first cat 3 climb, 1km in length at 9.4%.
12:25am
vitalyg said | 12:25am | Report comment
I bet the field is not too happy with Movistar upping the pace after the crash.
12:22am
vitalyg said | 12:22am | Report comment
43km to go and the time to the break is down to 3 minutes.
12:21am
vitalyg said | 12:21am | Report comment
And Sivtsov is out of the tour post that crash. 197 riders remain.
12:25am
Sam Brown said | 12:25am | Report comment
Bit of a blow for Wiggan to loose a team mate this early, still plenty of people to help him out but it can’t be a nice feeling ging up agaisnt BMC who are totally dedicated to Cadel, especially with Cav essentially being a freelancer.
12:13am
vitalyg said | 12:13am | Report comment
Movistar now drilling it on the front to take advantage of the crashes.
12:12am
vitalyg said | 12:12am | Report comment
Sagan punctures, but is back on the bike quickly. He shouldn’t have problems getting back. Break down to 3:46.
12:10am
vitalyg said | 12:10am | Report comment
Another pile-up. This is one nervous peloton with some Sky riders having gone down.
12:11am
vitalyg said | 12:11am | Report comment
Sivtsov is having problems getting up and an Euskaltel rider still on the ground. Farrar also caught up in that.
12:06am
vitalyg said | 12:06am | Report comment
Liquigas now adding some man power to the chase in front of RSN. The break is quickly coming down to 4 minutes.
12:03am
vitalyg said | 12:03am | Report comment
Something happened on the descent, Hesjadal and Kashechkin are now chasing back on.
11:58pm
vitalyg said | 11:58pm | Report comment
Main field tops the first climb. The break is now at 4:30 with 60km to go.
11:55pm
vitalyg said | 11:55pm | Report comment
And the peloton now turns from the wide road onto the narrower climb. This is where the GC contenders want to stay near the front to avoid any crashes.
11:52pm
vitalyg said | 11:52pm | Report comment
65km left in the stage and the break has about 5 minutes on the main field. The break is about to top the first climb. Morkov takes the point at the first KOM.
11:47pm
Al-Bo said | 11:47pm | Report comment
Hummel benefited from a bit of a mouthful from Cavendish then – both after the sprint AND during it.
11:51pm
Sam Brown said | 11:51pm | Report comment
Cav certainly gave it to him. Would love to have a mic on that little outburst, although I don’t know if all of it could have been broadcast on tv.
11:55pm
Al-Bo said | 11:55pm | Report comment
Bit emasculating for Hummel to be told off and outsprinted simultaneously.
11:59pm
vitalyg said | 11:59pm | Report comment
That’s ok, Cav will get his share of emasculation when he gets popped on one of the climbs coming up toward the finish. Unless of course he has fans push him up again
.
11:45pm
vitalyg said | 11:45pm | Report comment
Hummel was actually 7th across the sprint line and Sagan was 8th. Cavendish now trails Sagan by 13 points in the green jersey competition.
11:44pm
Sam Brown said | 11:44pm | Report comment
Not a great sign for Matt Goss there. Orica had the full lead-out but he couldn’t capitalise. Granted he was caught behind a couple of the guys but I still don’t think it s a great sign for his Green jersey hopes.
11:47pm
vitalyg said | 11:47pm | Report comment
As long as he keeps being consistent he has a chance. Fabian will fall out of the competition for green as we hit the mountains and I don’t see Cav finishing this tour in light of the Olympics – he really wants to get knighted. So this will come down to Sagan v. Goss for green.
11:41pm
vitalyg said | 11:41pm | Report comment
72 km left to go in the race, the break is out to 4:30 and we’re about to get lumpy with the first categorised climb coming up in just a few km.
11:38pm
vitalyg said | 11:38pm | Report comment
Cavendish takes the points for 6th, looks like Sagan was behind Cav.
11:36pm
vitalyg said | 11:36pm | Report comment
Orica Greenedge now leading it out. Cav sitting next to Sagan with Goss just ahead.
11:35pm
vitalyg said | 11:35pm | Report comment
Minard gets 20pts, Bernadeau 17, Morkov 15, Perez and Grivko round it out in that order. The break just rolled through the line, but it should get more heated in the main field in just a few moments.
11:31pm
vitalyg said | 11:31pm | Report comment
Break now less than 1km from sprint point.
11:29pm
vitalyg said | 11:29pm | Report comment
3km to go to the intermediate sprint for the break, the main field won’t be too far behind. Looking for teams to line up for this one.
11:22pm
vitalyg said | 11:22pm | Report comment
RSN still on the front with Szmyd of Liquigas helping out, around 8km to the intermediate sprint.
11:14pm
vitalyg said | 11:14pm | Report comment
The break is now at just under 5 minutes and we’re 11km from the intermediate sprint points.
11:04pm
vitalyg said | 11:04pm | Report comment
The peloton slowed down to eat whatever they got in their goodie bags, the gap is back up to 4:12. We’re now 17km away from the intermediate sprint.
11:00pm
vitalyg said | 11:00pm | Report comment
The main field is now making its way through the feed zone. The gap to the break is down to 3’45″
10:55pm
vitalyg said | 10:55pm | Report comment
The break is now just going through the feedzone.
10:53pm
vitalyg said | 10:53pm | Report comment
With about 100km to go, the time to the break is now under 4minutes.
10:47pm
vitalyg said | 10:47pm | Report comment
Szmyd (LIQ) now on the front and Basso and Sagan are positioned behind the RSN train. I bet they are plotting for those intermediate points.
10:44pm
vitalyg said | 10:44pm | Report comment
The time to the break is slowly coming down, just over 4 minutes now. I don’t think the chase is on just yet. But once we get through the intermediate sprint, I bet the teams will start thinking about the tricky finish.
10:35pm
vitalyg said | 10:35pm | Report comment
And there’s a crash as the peloton tries to make it around a traffic island. Just too much of a squeeze. Looks like everyone is OK and back on the bikes.
10:30pm
Sam Brown said | 10:30pm | Report comment
Thanks for the updates. I’m very excited about the end today, will be a great chance for Wiggins or Evans to get a little psychological leg up in GC.
10:51pm
vitalyg said | 10:51pm | Report comment
Yes, it should be interesting to see how this ends, but Wiggo was saying before the start that it’s not hard enough to shake things up on GC.
10:27pm
vitalyg said | 10:27pm | Report comment
Sky are lined up behind RSN staying close to the front.
10:28pm
vitalyg said | 10:28pm | Report comment
Break is holding steady at around 4:20.
10:21pm
vitalyg said | 10:21pm | Report comment
We’re now less than 50km away from the intermediate sprint. With all the true sprinters unlikely to be there at the end, I’d expect this to be hotly contested for those green jersey points. Look for Goss, Greipel and Sagan to have a go at it.
10:16pm
vitalyg said | 10:16pm | Report comment
RSN are on the front controlling the pace and defending the yellow jersey.
10:14pm
vitalyg said | 10:14pm | Report comment
We’re approaching 70km into the race and the break is holding steady at just over 4 minutes.
10:00pm
vitalyg said | 10:00pm | Report comment
Before the start of the stage, Matt Goss said that if he can make it near the front on the last climb, he can go for a good result, but that getting there won’t be easy with all the climbs coming late in the race.
9:56pm
vitalyg said | 9:56pm | Report comment
Looks like the peloton relaxed a bit and the break has now grown to over 5 minutes.
9:48pm
vitalyg said | 9:48pm | Report comment
At the 50km mark, the break is holding steady at about 4 and a half minutes.
9:23pm
vitalyg said | 9:23pm | Report comment
Looks like RSN brought the break in a bit to 4:40. With Grivko so close to Cancellara, the break will not get much breathing room today. I’m sure RSN doesn’t want to take any chances.
9:18pm
vitalyg said | 9:18pm | Report comment
It’s also threatening to rain, which may make the final up and down in this stage a bit more tricky than usual. Some of the climbs and descents are on on quite narrow roads.
9:11pm
vitalyg said | 9:11pm | Report comment
With the break now at 5:40, RSN riders are now on the front, as expected. Their job is to keep the break in check.
9:08pm
vitalyg said | 9:08pm | Report comment
While we have some time before anything interesting starts happening, what does everyone think of the yellow helmets to designate the leading team this year?
9:03pm
vitalyg said | 9:03pm | Report comment
Oops, spoke too soon. Looks like the break pulled out another minute and is now 5:30 ahead of the main field.
9:01pm
vitalyg said | 9:01pm | Report comment
The break seems to be settled now at about 4 and a half minutes.
8:57pm
vitalyg said | 8:57pm | Report comment
The break has quickly grown to 3:25 at the 11km mark.
8:55pm
vitalyg said | 8:55pm | Report comment
8km into the stage and the break already has 2 minutes on the field.
8:53pm
vitalyg said | 8:53pm | Report comment
Grivko is only 38 seconds behind Cancellara and the break currently has 45 seconds on the main field, so we have a new virtual leader on the road. This also puts the pressure on RSN to keep the break in check in order to keep yellow.
8:51pm
vitalyg said | 8:51pm | Report comment
No surprise Morkov made the break. He’s currently leading the polka dot jersey competition and with six categorised climbs coming up during this stage, I’m sure he’s looking to scrape up some points to extend that lead before the tour hits the high mountains.
8:49pm
vitalyg said | 8:49pm | Report comment
There are now 5 riders off the front with about 15 seconds advantage. Bernaudeau (EUC), Perez Moreno (EUS), who instigated the move, Minard (ALM), Morkov (STB), Grivko (AST)
8:45pm
vitalyg said | 8:45pm | Report comment
All back together again.
8:42pm
vitalyg said | 8:42pm | Report comment
The peloton just came out of the neutral zone and already there’s a small bunch of the front trying to break away. Let’s see if it sticks.
8:41pm
vitalyg said | 8:41pm | Report comment
Flyover of today’s stage via cyclingthealps.com
http://youtu.be/ryqoRNhB0sE
8:40pm
vitalyg said | 8:40pm | Report comment
Green jersey competition after Stage 2.
1. SVKSAGAN Peter 57 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 78 pts
2. GBRCAVENDISH Mark 103 SKY PROCYCLING 63 pts
3. SUICANCELLARA Fabian 12 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 55 pts
4. AUSGOSS Matthew Harley 204 ORICA GREENEDGE 52 pts
5. NORBOASSON HAGEN Edvald 102 SKY PROCYCLING 42 pts
6. GERGREIPEL André 114 LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 42 pts
7. BELGILBERT Philippe 4 BMC RACING TEAM 33 pts
8. AUSRENSHAW Mark 154 RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 31 pts
9. NEDVEELERS Tom 219 TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO 26 pts
10. DENMORKOV Michael 175 TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 25 pts
8:38pm
vitalyg said | 8:38pm | Report comment
Overall standings after Stage 2.
1. SUICANCELLARA Fabian 12 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 10h 02′ 31”
2. GBRWIGGINS Bradley 101 SKY PROCYCLING 10h 02′ 38” + 00′ 07”
3. FRACHAVANEL Sylvain 192 OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 10h 02′ 38” + 00′ 07”
4. USAVAN GARDEREN Tejay 9 BMC RACING TEAM 10h 02′ 41” + 00′ 10”
5. NORBOASSON HAGEN Edvald 102 SKY PROCYCLING 10h 02′ 42” + 00′ 11”
6. RUSMENCHOV Denis 131 KATUSHA TEAM 10h 02′ 44” + 00′ 13”
7. BELGILBERT Philippe 4 BMC RACING TEAM 10h 02′ 44” + 00′ 13”
8. AUSEVANS Cadel 1 BMC RACING TEAM 10h 02′ 48” + 00′ 17”
9. ITANIBALI Vincenzo 51 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 10h 02′ 49” + 00′ 18”
10. CANHESJEDAL Ryder 61 GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 10h 02′ 49” + 00′ 18”