Stage 3 is done, Boonen swapped his rainbow stripes for yellow, Valverde, Fast Freddie and Thomas Dekker are out, and Matthias Kessler delivered the first non-sprint victory of the 2006 Tour. Crashes, the heat and the Ardennes took a small toll on the Tour, and things are just starting to get interesting ...
... as they are in the Tour Pool. Peter Metuzals continues to lead but a sub-par performance on the stage combined with a fine second place from Helena DeVeer have shaved his lead to a single point. Paul Crowley (who had an error in his entry, now fixed) is a ways back in third.
A fine stage win for John Fee and Cynthia Phelan, for whom Boonen, Rogers and Discovery came through big time. DeVeer shared second place honours with "Texless" Spencer Campbell and the charmingly named Orange Scheisse.
Should be another day for the sprinters tomorrow as the Tour heads back to France.
-- Kris W.
Date: 4-Jul
Stage: 3
Start/Finish: Esch-sur-Alzette > Valkenburg
Distance 216,5
1st KESSLER Matthias GER TMO
2nd ROGERS Michael AUS TMO
3rd BENNATI Daniele ITA LAM
4th BOONEN Tom BEL QSI
5th ZABEL Erik GER MRM
6th PAOLINI Luca ITA LIQ
7th FREIRE Oscar ESP RAB
8th MAZZOLENI Eddy ITA TMO
9th TOTSCHNIG Georg AUT GST
10th WEGMANN Fabian GER GST
Mountains PINEAU Jérôme FRA BTL
Young rider FOTHEN Marcus GER GST
Aggressive ARRIETA Jose Luis ESP A2R
Teams T-MOBILE TEAM
Abandon VALVERDE Alejandro ESP CEI
Abandon RODRIGUEZ Fred USA DVL
Abandon DEKKER Erik NED RAB
Overall:
Yellow BOONEN Tom BEL QSI
Team DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM
Green BOONEN Tom BEL QSI
Polka dots PINEAU Jérôme FRA BTL
Young rider FOTHEN Marcus GER GST
Pool standings:
Rank Points Stage rank Stage points Team
1 194 6 28 Peter Metuzals
2 193 2 33 Helena DeVeer
3 175 10 27 Paul Crowley "Team Blood Wash"
4 163 24 22 Jamie Bryan
5 160 10 27 Stefan Sander
6 158 2 33 Spencer Campbell "Texless"
7 157 2 33 Orange Scheisse
8 154 24 22 Linda Gilligan
8 154 24 22 Markus Chiang
10 151 10 27 Steve Proulx
11 147 39 20 Glenn "My Team is Clean" Robinson
11 147 6 28 Lori Meyers
13 130 10 27 Chris & Storm
14 129 52 18 Meylina Kandoy
15 127 56 15 Natasha Elliott
16 125 24 22 Blaine Penny
16 125 1 39 John Fee / Cynthia Phelan
18 124 56 15 Eva Ortega "VillaEva"
18 124 5 30 Josh Hall
20 123 23 23 Grimpeur George
21 122 10 27 Dave Thomas
22 120 19 26 The Cyclery
22 120 39 20 "Dick und Doof"
24 117 24 22 Nat Faulkner
25 116 19 26 Tyler Lawlor
26 114 10 27 J to the U
27 113 56 15 Craig Hawkes "Sith Riders"
27 113 56 15 Chris Holzauer
29 112 78 2 Matt Toulouse
29 112 39 20 Sean O'Donnell "The Ruse is Up"
31 110 24 22 Deb Hine's Most Excellent Picks
31 110 39 20 Team Boyz on Bikes
33 109 71 10 Julie Deschenes-Furry
34 108 24 22 Team D.O.P.E.- Downplaying Operation Puerto Evidence
35 106 6 28 Musky Ninja
36 105 24 22 Ed Makarchuk
37 100 10 27 "Barnet CC"
38 99 24 22 Mhairi Gilmore
38 99 39 20 Jennifer Garrett
40 98 39 20 Ross Knight
41 97 19 26 "Mr. Stevens Picks"
41 97 35 21 Wilby McKnight
43 96 56 15 Derrick St. John
43 96 80 0 SUPERFAN
45 95 10 27 Sandy Fulton
46 94 55 16 Doug Hinan
46 94 39 20 Yellow Dopes "Grubby Rabbit"
48 86 56 15 Jeffrey Furry
48 86 56 15 Courtnay Romkey
50 84 6 28 Kris "Can't win" Westwood
51 83 35 21 Kevin Field "Fev"
52 82 52 18 Team Damdom
53 81 56 15 Team Oro Rocks
54 80 56 15 Paul Scafel "Team Venga Venga Venga"
55 79 22 24 Ian Dalling
55 79 72 7 Julie Jay
57 78 24 22 Sheri Jay
58 76 24 22 Jay "Son of Rudy" Heins
59 70 69 12 Kiwi Mike
60 67 39 20 Rob Grondin
60 67 56 15 Alex Lai
60 67 78 2 Mike Larochelle
60 67 56 15 Gordon Dalling
64 66 39 20 Marc Boudreau
64 66 39 20 Vicki Thomas
66 65 56 15 Neil la Plante
66 65 10 27 Richard and Catherine
68 64 80 0 Donelli
69 61 69 12 Team 18 Wheeler
70 60 86 -1 "Team Wheelywotten"
71 56 39 20 Rob Kerr
72 54 76 3 Dave Shirley
72 54 35 21 Larginski
74 51 35 21 Adrian Das
75 47 39 20 Reed Archer
76 46 72 7 Les Boyz
77 38 52 18 Shawn Clarke
78 37 87 -5 Luise Sander "No Euros Here"
79 33 56 15 Chris White
80 28 39 20 Kate Scallion
81 20 74 6 Team OK
81 20 80 0 Remi "Team MTB + Frenchies" Berube
83 15 80 0 Los Spics
84 13 75 4 Operation Spain
85 11 76 3 Phil Brun del Re "The Lucky Lucky Nine"
86 0 80 0 Mr. Glen
87 -5 80 0 Il Gatto