Hushovd wins third stage as Cancellara reclaims lead

Sylvain Chavanel of France led Cancellara by 2:57 coming into the stage but dropped to fifth overall with the Swiss coming home in the lead group of six along with his Saxo Bank team leader Schleck and Britain's Geraint Thomas, who moves to second place on GC.

The first cobbled sector came after 128km but the most dangerous were the last four, all back on French soil, with the spring classic specialists like Hushovd and Cancellara coming to the fore as they crossed the pavé used in Paris-Roubaix.

The weather was dry but the infamous cobbles of the so-called Hell of the North did claim one victim as Frank Schleck, who finished fifth in each of the last two years, lost control on the crown of a bend in the Sars-et-Rosieres section and crashed to put an end to his race.

That 2.4km section of pavé inside the final 30km saw the peloton splinter with Cancellara, Andy Schleck, Thomas, Hushovd and world champion Cadel Evans forming an elite lead group in pursuit of Ryder Hesjedal.

The Canadian rider from Garmin initiated a breakaway after 13km that also featured Britain's Steven Cummings (Sky), Pavél Brutt (Katusha), Robert Kluge (Milram), Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Imanol Erviti (Caisse d'Epargne) and Stéphane Auge (Cofidis).

They built up a maximum lead of 4:25 but only the Garmin rider maintained the momentum over the pavé before eventually being caught inside the final 6km.

Cancellara and Andy Schleck led the sextet to the line in a bid to gain valuable seconds and that played into the hands of Hushovd as the Norwegian champion from Cervelo led out the sprint for his eighth Tour de France stage victory.

Team Sky's Thomas came home a superb second on the stage and following an excellent prologue time trial is now just 23 seconds behind Cancellara, with BMC's Evans a further 16 seconds back overall after finishing third on the stage ahead of the heroic Hesjedal.

Defending champion Alberto Contador, who is less familiar with one-day classics held on the cobbles, did limit his deficit to fifth-placed Andy Schleck to 73 seconds and now trails the lanky rider from Luxembourg by 31 seconds overall.

The Spaniard lost contact with the second group on the road, including Bradley Wiggins, over the final kilometre but gained 55 seconds on Lance Armstrong who punctured at a crucial time on the pavé.

Six years ago when the Tour de France last visited the route of the famous cobblestoned classic, one of Armstrong's main challengers Iban Mayo lost almost four minutes after a crash but on this occasion 90 riders came home within 2:25 of the leader.

Although that did not include Chavanel who, after gaining the maillot jaune in dramatic circumstances on Monday, suffered two punctures in the closing stages and trailed over the line 3:58 behind Hushovd to drop behind Hesjedal on GC.

Source: eurosport.co.uk