Dutch Riders Take Control of Tour de France
Jean-Paul Van Poppel of the Netherlands won the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race Tuesday, and countryman Teun Van Vliet retained the yellow jersey as the overall leader.
Van Poppel finished first in a final sprint of the 134-mile stage from Nantes to Le Mans in western France. He was timed in 4 hours 52 minutes 8 seconds.
Van Poppel beat Mathieu Herman of the Netherlands and Eric Vanderaerden of Belgium in the last yards after the pack had gradually caught the two riders who had staged a breakaway.
Roger Ilegams of Belgium and Henri Abadie of France had pulled away after about 33 miles, but they lost the lead about 4.5 miles from the finish.
Van Vliet, who gained the overall lead after the team time trial’s second stage Monday, held on to the top position by being part of the pack that was right behind the winner.
He also solidified his lead with the aid of bonus seconds by placing well in intermediate sprints during the course of the race. He currently is 18 seconds ahead of Vanderaerden.
Canadian Steve Bauer, who won the first stage Monday, still is ninth, 32 seconds back overall.
The 2,020-mile race through France ends in Paris on the avenue Champs Elysee July 24.
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