Valverde wins Stage 3 at Paris-Nice

Alejandro Valverde made his return to cycling at the
Tour Down Under this year following a two-year
suspension for doping offences
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY-SA 3.0)

Alejandro Valverde just pipped Simon Gerrans of GreenEDGE to the post in today's Stage 3 at Paris-Nice in a short final climb and chaotic bunch sprint that saw the first 62 riders record the same time. Both men crossed the line within a hairs' breadth of one another, resulting in Twitter posts declaring the win divided equally between them. His Movistar team put on a textbook display of tactics, positioning him in precisely the right position some way down the road and ensuring he'd have a good shot at the victory with half a kilometre to go.

Michael Morkov, Roy Curvers and Jimmy Engoulvent attacked early on in the 194km stage, forming a breakaway group that vacuumed up a healthy dose of points and built up a lead of more than 4'30" for a respectable portion of the race, but their time out in front began to look limited once the reached the first of the two Category 3 climbs and the peloton took the opportunity to reel them back in one by one.

The final part of the stage was characterised by attacks from unexpected quarters as first Sergey Lagutin tried his luck, getting some 12" ahead, then Lieuwe Westra had a go as soon as Lagutin had been caught. Meanwhile, stronger men were being dropped all over the place: Thor Hushovd went and Tom Boonen, winner of yesterday's stage, wasn't far behind him - which many rivals will see as an indication that the God of Thunder hasn't got the form he'll need if he's to achieve his stated aim at the Monuments this year.

Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins rode cleverly, avoiding the temptation to join in with further breakaway theatrics and instead kept working away just off the front of the pack while concentrating on maintaining a good time. It worked - the British rider holds onto the yellow jersey with a 6" lead in the overall General Classification. Team mate Geraint Thomas grabbed two points during the stage, giving him second place behind Engoulvent who took three.

Tomorrow, Stage 4 climbs two Cat 2 mountains - the Cotes du Fangas and Quotidiane. With Wiggo's apparently excellent early season form and current time trial prowess, British fans hoping for Tour de France success will be eager to see how he copes.

Stage 3 Top 10

1. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 MOVISTAR TEAM 4h 36' 19"  
2. GERRANS Simon 41 GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
3. MEERSMAN Gianni 197 LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
4. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 91 RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
5. FLORENCIO Xavier 173 KATUSHA TEAM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
6. CAPECCHI Eros 182 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
7. MONFORT Maxime 15 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
8. HIVERT Jonathan 204 SAUR-SOJASUN 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
9. GAVAZZI Francesco 83 ASTANA PRO TEAM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
10. WESTRA Lieuwe 108 VACANSOLEIL-DCM 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"


20. WIGGINS Bradley 21 SKY PROCYCLING 4h 36' 19" + 00' 00"
Full results

General Classification Top 10

1. WIGGINS Bradley 21 SKY PROCYCLING 9h 09' 51"  
2. LEIPHEIMER Levi 6 OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 9h 09' 57" + 00' 06"
3. VAN GARDEREN Tejay 167 BMC RACING TEAM 9h 10' 02" + 00' 11"
4. CHAVANEL Sylvain 3 OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 9h 10' 05" + 00' 14"
5. MONFORT Maxime 15 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 9h 10' 09" + 00' 18"
6. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 MOVISTAR TEAM 9h 10' 11" + 00' 20"
7. WESTRA Lieuwe 108 VACANSOLEIL-DCM 9h 10' 13" + 00' 22"
8. ROJAS Jose Joaquin 38 MOVISTAR TEAM 9h 10' 20" + 00' 29"
9. SPILAK Simon 176 KATUSHA TEAM 9h 10' 24" + 00' 33"
10. KISERLOVSKI Robert 86 ASTANA PRO TEAM 9h 10' 27" + 00' 36"
Full results