The riders get on the pavès for the first time in this race. On the final circuit the riders go over the short uphill cobbled section.
But there is no doubt that the more selective stage will be the 4th, which is far harder.
Today even the sprinters might have a chance again as the hills aren`t that tough and the cobbles probably not long enough.
Hristov went solo this morning and has already a 2min gap. It doesn`t look like he won`t get any support from behind and so he starts a long solo ride with 165km to go.
Not really a surprise that he als otakes the first KoM sprint.
With 4 Cat.4 climbs he has fair chances to take the KoM jersey after that stage.
In especially as none of the three breakaway riders went for the small points. Harrison and McLay ride over the line next while doing the pace.
Obviously he also took the sprint. But then it became more interesting as some sprinters this time tried to get some points.
Eisel outsprints Weylandt here, which is good news for Amex as the Austrian can need every second to beat the bigger cobblers.
As 4th over the line and without bonus seconds Geraint Thomas at least tried something.
Hristov already has a 4'23 gap to the peloton at the second mountain climb. Yet again no rider seems to be interested in taking the remaining points and so a working Bouygues duo is coming next.
But right after the climb they are already relaxing again and it`s Cadbury doing the work. With Torckler and Davis they have nice riders, who did fairly well yesterday.
With 50km to go the gap is down to 3'28 with airBaltic starting to work in the peloton. Mitch Docker is not a cobbler, but he showed his good form yesterday and surely wants to take another win.
The riders had a chance to look at the cobbled finish area and it seems as if they are quite confident to be in front also today.
The same 3 sprinters are going for the remaining bonus seconds at the 2nd intermediate.
This time it`s Weylandt ahead of Eisel with Thomas again taking 0 points.
For the Brit it seems to be a useless try and he maybe should try to save his energy. Next to Eisel he might be the top favourite today if he can take advantage of the cobbles in the end.
Yesterdays runner-up Sieberg with the first attack with 17km to go. He is followed by Taillefour, who already lost time and is not the biggest danger and top favourite Vanspeybrouck.
Baugnies and Eichler immediately follow.
The Sram rider already showed good form yesterday and had to step up after Haussler`s abandon.
The team can only hope that he continues to impress.
But a nice mix of Bouygues and airBaltic riders directly caught those five as they want to secure a sprint finish today.
A bit ahead you can see Hristov fighting for the stage win but it`s not looking good under the 10km mark.
He just takes the intermediate ahead of Eisel and Weylandt. First one collected 10 bonus seconds today and is putting the pressure on Bpost and HTC mainly.
Thomas also sprinted but was a bit blocked and couldn`t have a impact here.
McClay as last leadout for Docker with 2,4km to go. Hristov was caught 2km ago but as you can see the final is not very easy. So if a decent puncheur is positioned well, he might have a chance.
McLay
Docker
Tronet
Sieberg
Young
Weylandt
Torckler
Eichler
Thomas
Eisel
Eichler wants to surprise the sprinters and goes early followed by no one else than Baugnies and Vanspeybrouck.
McLay was doing well and still leads out Docker, while another Sram rider in Young starts his sprint.
The Sram guys really impress again and show how to compensate the loss of their best rider.
Eichler still leads with Torckler, Harrison, Docker, Weylandt and Sieberg coming from behind.
Eisel and Thomas lost a bit but above the hill when it`s flat again they might find their second air.
Or probably not. Reaching the cobbles a group of 7 seem to fight for the win.
Vanspeybrouck took over the lead and in especially Torckler and Docker come fast, while the Sram duo struggles now.
Also impressive by Cadbury once again. Harrison is still there even after his work he did during the stage.
Bad crash. It`s Torckler in a very good position. He falls just ahead of Sieberg, who seems to find contact to the front again and with several others behind and directly after a corner it is a very dangerous situation.
Vanspeybrouck still having the lead but it`s Sieberg now coming fast after somehow avoiding the crash.
Also Docker still in a great position seeing that he really is no cobbler.
But it`s the Bpost rider already showing his strength. A win in a sprint finish surely wasn`t expected by him today. But this will bring him into a great position in especially as his biggest opponent Baugnies doesn`t get any bonus seconds.
Docker keeps the lead with his 2nd today ahead of a strong Sieberg again.
Eichler (5.) and Young (6.) with a good result for Sram, just like Harrison as 7th. Tronet, Thomas and Drujon complete the top 10.
Weylandt surely was blocked a bit by the crash and only finishes 16th today but one name is surely missing in the top 20: Eisel.
Several riders couldn`t avoid to crash into Torckler after that corner.
One of them was unluckily Bernhard Eisel, who is losing his good GC chances this way. 2nd day and the 2nd GC favourite is losing ground...
Also Kankovský, Lhotellerie and French GC man Gaudin hit the ground.
Good news for Volkswagen at least that Sieberg is performing on a very good level so far.
