Matthias Kessler of T-Mobile won the undulating third stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday after 216,5km of racing from the outskirts of Luxembourg.
Belgium’s world champion Tom Boonen took the race leader’s yellow jersey from fellow sprinter Thor Hushovd of Norway.
Kessler, who tried in vain to win Monday’s stage before being overtaken shortly before the finish line, launched a daring attack on the hilly finale to the stage to finish with room to spare.
The German’s move outfoxed all of the sprinters, who had been threatening to reel him in.
Five seconds behind, Australian Michael Rogers, also of T-Mobile, finished second in front of Italian Daniele Bennati, with Boonen in fourth just ahead of German veteran Erik Zabel.
In the general classification, Quick Step pin-up Boonen has a one-second lead over Rogers.
American George Hincapie is in third place overall at five seconds adrift with Hushovd in fourth at seven.
Earlier in the race Spanish ace Alejandro Valverde crashed out while riding in the middle of the peloton and failed to get back on his bike.
It means the 25-year-old will have failed to complete the race for the second year in a row. Last year on his debut Valverde had to pull out because of a knee injury suffered in a fall.
The official race doctor later confirmed that this time he suffered a broken right collarbone. — AFP
