Key moments

16:36 - Top five placings

Top five placings in the 194-kms third stage of Paris-Nice between Vierzon and Lac de Vassiviere:
1. Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
2. Simon Gerrans (GEC)
3. Gianni Meersman (LTB)
4. Luis-Leon Sanchez (RAB)
5. Xavier Florencio (KAT) all same time.

16:35 - Gerrans beaten on the line

Simon Gerrans (GEC) is second behind the Spaniard while Gianni Meersman (LTB) is third.

16:33 - Valverde wins 3rd stage

Alejandro Valverde (MOV) wins the third stage of Paris-Nice.

16:31 - Westra attacks

Lieuwe Westra (VCD) attacks as soon as Lagutyn has been caught.

16:31 - Taaramae dropped

Estonia’s Rein Taaramae (COF), fourth last year, has also been dropped by the peloton.

16:30 - Barredo chases behind Lagutin

Carlos Barredo (RAB) is chasing alone behind Lagutin.

16:29 - Thomas, Basso dropped

Geraint Thomas (SKY) and Ivan Basso (LIQ) have been dropped.

16:28 - Latest gap

Lagutin leads the bunch by 12 seconds.

16:27 - Lagutin attacks

Uzbek Sergey Lagutin (VCD) attacks with three kilometres to go.

16:26 - Boonen now dropped

Tom Boonen (OPQ) has now ben dropped.

16:26 - Movistar still leading

Movistar riders are still up front, obviously working for Valverde.

16:24 - Five kms to go

and the peloton are tackling the last climb towards Lac de Vassiviere.

16:23 - Hushovd dropped

Several riders have been dropped by the peloton, including Norway’s Thor Hushovd (BMC).

16:22 - Engoulvent caught

Km 187 - Engoulvent has been caught.

16:20 - Result of the sprint in Peyrat-le-Chateau (km 186)

1. Jimmy Engoulvent (SAU) Three points, three seconds.
2. Geraint Thomas (SKY) 2 pts, 2 secs
3. Jose Ivan Guttierez (MOV) 1pt, 1 sec.

16:19 - Latest gap

Km 186 - Engoulvent leads the chasing bunch by 12 seconds.

16:18 - Boonen leads the bunch

Green jersey holder Tom Boonen (OPQ) leads the peloton, perhaps working for Sylvain Chavanel.

16:17 - Curvers and Morkov caught

Ten kilometres to go and Curvers and Morkov have been caught.

16:15 - Isaichev gives up

Caught in the crash at the back, Isaichev (KAT) has given up.

16:14 - Engoulvent attacks

Engoulvent just surged to part company with his two breakaway companions.

16:13 - Crash at the back

Three riders crashed at the back of the bunch. The most seriously hurt was Vladimir Isaichev (KAT).

16:12 - 15 kms to go

and the gap is now down to 40 seconds.

16:09 - Omega Pharma and Europcar join the chase

Km 176 - Omega Pharma Quick Step and Europcar join the chase and the gap goes down to 45 seconds.

16:05 - 20 kms to go

and the gap is now down to 1:10.

16:03 - Puncture for Coppel

Jerome Coppel (SAU) just punctured at the back of the bunch.

16:02 - 22 kms to go

and Morkov, Curvers and Engouvlent still lead the bunch by 2:10.

15:58 - The big fight is about to start

The tempo increased in the peloton after Movistar took the reins. Wiggins just got rid of his thick yellow jumper as if getting ready for the big fight in the finale.

15:57 - A Movistar leads the chase

A Movistar rider now takes over from Sky at the front of the bunch. A sign of Valverde’s ambitions?

15:53 - Results at the top of the Cote de Bourganeuf (km 167.5, 3rd cat)

1. Curvers 4 pts
2. Engoulvent 2
3. Morkov 1

15:52 - The peloton in Poulidor’s birthplace

The peloton just rode through Masbaraud-Merignat, the birhtplace of Raymond Poulidor.

15:48 - 30 kms to go

and the lead is now down to 2:50.

15:46 - Lead goes down

33 kms to go and three minutes left for the leading three.

15:37 - Tackling the Bourganeuf climb

The three escapees are nearing the first climb of the day, Cote de Bourganeuf (km 167.5, 3rd cat)/

15:33 - 40 kms to go

and the gap now down to 3:15 between the three escapees and the peloton.

15:21 - Puncture for Valverde

Last hour of the stage and Valverde punctures. His Movistar team-mates wait for him.

15:19 - Gap goes down

Km 141 - The gap between Morkov, Curvers, Engoulvent and the peloton is going down: 3:40.

15:18 - Moncoutie in the crash

Among the riders in the crash was Frenchman David Moncoutie (COF).

15:09 - Crash at the back

Several riders are held by a crash at the back of the peloton.

15:00 - Team Sky still lead leisurely

Km 135 - Seven riders from Team Sky lead the peloton at a leisurely pace. The temperature is still cold at around 4 degrees C. The gap is unchanged at 4:30.

14:57 - Engoulvent profile

France’s Jimmy Engoulvent (SAU), 32, has been a pro since 2001. A good time trial specialist, he won several prologues in his career, the latest last year in the Tour of Andalucia.

14:54 - Curvers profile

Dutchman Roy Curvers (PRO), 32, has been a pro since 2003. He won the Belgian semi-classic Halle-Ingooigem last year.

14:24 - Morkov profile

Denmark’s Michael Morkov (SAX), 26, is a brilliant track specialist, winner of the world Madison title in 2009. On the road, he won the Challenge Sprint Pro held as a curtain raiser of the Quebec Grand Prix in September.

14:19 - Saur had planned Engouvlent’s move

Saur-Sojasun team director Lylian Lebreton said it was in their plan to have a man in the day’s break : "Since the GC is now out of touch, we had decided to have someone in the breaks and Jimmy was the man we had picked for the early stages of the race. It will be hard with only three of them but we can try something with another rider in the finale. We let the top 5 slip away yesterday but we now hope for Jerome Coppel to be able to take one of the other top ten placings from here to Nice. Of course, Jerome looks forward to the last day’s TT but Wiggins looks in the form of his life and he will be hard to beat."

14:16 - Average speed

The average speed in the second hour of the stage was 39.2 kph. The overall average speed was 41 kph.

14:13 - The race in Aigurande

Km 98.5 - The break is now in Aigurande, start of two Tour de France stages ending in Super-Besse in 2008 and 2011.

14:12 - Gallopin: "It’s not over yet"

RadioShack-Nissan team director Alain Gallopin told www.letour.fr about the team strategy after Andy Schleck’s departure: "As far as Andy is concerned, he will go home and rest. If everything goes well he will join us in the South of France later this week and go on the Tour of Catalunya. For the rest, I said since the start that Maxime Monfort was our best man at the moment. And we can see that he was in the right break. Let’s not believe that it’s over. Three years ago, when Contador won the prologue, he collapsed during the weekend and I told him he had worked too hard in the first couple of days."

13:53 - Nicolas Portal: "An ideal scénario"

Team Sky sports director Nicolas Portal told www.letour.fr about his team’s strategy on the stage and further down the road:
"For us it’s an ideal scenario. Three men in the lead, reasonably mild weather, no rain. It allows us to control the race smoothly. When Brad says that Paris-Nice is not a priority, he doesn’t mean it’s not an objective, he means the Holy Grail is the Tour. For him, like for the rest of the team, this Paris-Nice is an excellent test. To defend a jersey is great apprenticeship. Then there is the stage to Mende, which does not suit Brad on paper. We’ll see how he manages. And of course, Brad is a man who knows and respect cycling history and the time trial on the Col d’Eze is a stage he dreams about. In any case, he will have to do well on the last day to win Paris-Nice."

13:41 - Average speed

The average speed in the first hour was 42.8 kph.

13:33 - Latest gap

Km 70 - Morkov, Curvers and Engoulvent lead the peloton by 4:30.

13:22 - Winners at Lac de Vassiviere

Lac de Vassiviere always crowned big names in the peloton. Three individual time trials took place on the banks of the lake on the Tour de France. In 1985, the winner was Greg LeMond. Five years later, Erik Breukink won the stage and LeMond took a decisive lead over Claudio Chiappucci on the eve of the Tour finish in Paris. In 1995, Miguel Indurain won his last Tour stage victory in Vassiviere.

13:20 - Gap stable

Km 63 - The lead is stable at 4:30. 

12:56 - Exciting finale

With three men in the lead, the favourites can now relax a bit and wait for an exciting finale by the lake of Vassiviere. A first third category climb in Bourganeuf could launch the hostilities while the last five kilometers are uphill and could suit a rider like Alejandro Valverde, the most often cited name at the start. 

12:44 - Latest gap

Km 43 - Morkov, Engoulvent and Curvers lead the peloton by 4:35.

12:37 - Poulidor 40 years later

French cycling hero Raymond Poulidor won Paris-Nice 40 years ago and the stage today finishes near his birthplace, on a circuit bearing his name. 
“1972 caused a real fuss. And then the year after I won Paris-Nice t again and it went nearly unnoticed. But there was so much fuss in 1972. I was a year older in 1973, at 37, but 1972 is the year people remember,” he told local daily Le Populaire du centre.

12:33 - The race in Issoudun

Km 28.5 - Issoudun was the finish of a Tour de France stage in 2009, won by Briton Mark Cavendish. 

12:21 - Latest gap

Km 25 - The gap is now 4:40.

12:20 - Gap increases

Km 19 - Morkov, Engoulvent and Curvers now lead the bunch by four minutes. Team Sky riders are at the front of the peloton.

12:12 - Latest gap

The three escapees now lead the bunch by 2:30.

12:10 - 27 nations still in the race

The 173 riders still in the race belong to 27 nations. France is the stronger contingent (40), followed by Belgium and Spain (22).
France: 40
Belgium: 22 (23 minus Nuyens in stage 1)
Spain: 22
Italy: 15
Germany: 12
Netherlands: 11
Australia: 10
United States: 6
Denmark: 5
Russia: 4
Belarus, Slovenia : 3
Britain, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Switzerland: 2
Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Uzbekistan, Sweden: 1

12:02 - First gap

Km 8 - The three lead the bunch by 45 seconds.

11:59 - Three men on the move

Michael Morkov (SAX), Jimmy Engoulvent (SAU) and Roy Curvers (PRO) attacked on the gun.

11:57 - Real start given now

The real start was given at 11:57 to 173 riders. The peloton was briefly held by a railway crossing.

11:48 - Jersey holders

Briton Bradley Wiggins holds the yellow jersey after joining the wining echelon in yesterday’s stage. The Team Sky leader is trailed by American Levi Leipheimer, 6 seconds adrift, and by second stage winner Tom Boonen, who holds the green jersey.
Fourth overall, American Tejay Van Garderen retained his best young rider’s white jersey.
Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt also strengthened his polka-dot garment yesterday by finishing second on top of the only climb of the stage.
Omega Pharma Quick Step comfortably lead the team standings after their show of strength on the road to Orleans.

11:47 - In the press today (3)

Local paper Le Populaire du Centre said Lac de Vassiviere, where Tour de France stages were held in the 1990s, was hoping to host another Tour finish in the near future: “It is a real test for the site,” the paper said.

11:46 - In the press today (2)

Also in l’Equipe, Tom Boonen confessed he did not care too much about winning his 100th individual victory yesterday: “It’s not really something I think about, 90th or 100th, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Actually, cycling statisticians differ. Some claim Boonen already reached the 100 mark in Qatar while Boonen himself told Belgian radio RTBF: “I actually think it’s my 117th…”

11:45 - In the press today (1)

In L’Equipe, race leader Bradley Wiggins warned against over-optimism:
“I’m not in my best condition yet and to win Paris-Nice is perhaps not that important. The goal is July but it’s good for the team to have a yellow jersey to fight for.”

11:44 - Climbs of the day

Km 167 – Cote de Bourganeuf (3rd cat)
Km 194 – Lac de Vassiviere (3rd cat)

11:38 - Sprint of the day

Km 186 – Peyrat-le-Chateau

11:38 - Start given

The start was given to 173 riders.

11:32 - Kruopis did not start

Lithuania’s Aidis Kruopis (GEC) did not start either.

11:31 - Andy Schleck calls it quits

Struggling since the start of this Paris-Nice, Andy Schleck is sick and decided to call it quits and not start the 3rd stage :
“He was sick yesterday and threw up in the bus this morning and it was not worth it. He will probably take part in the Tour of Catalunya now,” said RadioShack team director Alain Gallopin.
“I really wanted to try”, said Andy Schleck. “But against sickness you cannot do a lot. I need to let my body recover from this. This is bad news, I wanted to perform well in Paris-Nice, but I better not jeopardize the rest of the season. My goals are situated later in the season.”

11:31 - Welcome on the 3rd stage

Welcome on the 194-kms third stage of Paris-Nice between Vierzon and Lac de Vassiviere.

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