German Matthias Kessler won the 216.5-km third stage of the Tour
de France on Tuesday while Belgium's world champion Tom Boonen took
the race leader's yellow jersey.
T-Mobile's Kessler, who was overtaken shortly before the finish
line and missed out on the victory at Monday's stage, finished five
seconds ahead of his Australian teammate Michael Rogers. Italy's
Daniele Bennati of the Lampre team came in third.
Boonen ended up fourth, a result helping him regain the race
leader's yellow jersey from fellow sprinter Thor Hushovd of
Norway.
The third stage covers a 216.5-kilometer distance from
Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg to Valkenburg, Netherlands.
(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2006)
