Burkina Faso cobbles are here. With the cobbles coming early on it is unlikely to prevent a sprint finish, however the likes of Steegmans may feel spurred on to do something today.


Grashev going hell for leather on the cobbles.

30 kilometres into the race we hit the only cobbled section of the stage. Five riders are '30 ahead of the chasing peloton, Grashev really gives it all in hoping to establish a gap.


The peloton take it easy upon reaching the cobbles.

The impetus of the peloton goes out when they reach the cobbles. So the aforementioned 5 riders make the break, they are: Grashev, Olman, Sosnitsky, Kiflay and Cataford.

Very interesting to see that Olman, being high up in GC after the prologue, makes the break.



28 KM to go: the break @ 1'37. There is one man out the rear of the peloton, and it is a big name. The former race leader, M Ford can't handle the pace on the flat and is dropped, this in despite of his strong showing on the two days previous.

He will be consoled by the fact that Olman will rise in the GC due to bonifications from the intermediate sprints. However, Grashev is the stand out rider in the break today, the Bulgarian would take '18 seconds of bonuses and provisionally take the race lead by '1 from Ciolek. The break look destined to be caught, but will they be dropped out the rear of the peloton like the break of the previous stage?



After a solid ride Grashev and Cataford are the last of the break to be gobbled up. They are caught with 7 KM to go over the last notable incline of the day.



The sprint will decide stage 3. Team Puma - SAP take up the finale from a long ways out.

After Bar drills along the peloton for what feels like an eternity, Ciolek is down to one lead-out man. Hoffman and Steegmans are the closest challengers with an erratic Cavendish in the wind.

For whatever reason, in contrast to stage 2, there aren't too many sprinters to the fore today.



Ciolek starts his sprint, will it be 2-2? Many of the big name sprinters (Goss, Vantomme) have started too far back to really be in contention.


- 100 meters to go.

Ciolek leads by a bike length, he has blown Hoffman and, to a lesser extent, Steegmans off his wheel but Napolitano is powering along.



Napolitano comes level with Ciolek.



Stage win Napolitano. He didn't need a lead-out today, he will rise to take the GC lead as Ciolek misses out by a second. Steegmans finishes third in this mass sprint, a good sign for him ahead of a potentially selective stage 9?

Though the first 24 to finish had a sizeable gap back to the rest, everyone is given the same time. That means, thanks to those intermediate points, Grashev rises to 3rd in GC. With Olman in fourth, who now looks like The OZ's best GC hope with Goss not coming close in the sprints thus far.