Valkenburg (Netherlands): German rider Matthias Kessler won stage three of the Tour de France by surging ahead of the main pack on the last climb on Tuesday, while world champion Tom Boonen took the overall lead.
Kessler, part of the T-Mobile squad that lost leader Jan Ullrich to doping allegations before the Tour began last Saturday, held off sprinters to win the stage under blazing sunshine.
Kessler was followed over the line by his Australian teammate Michael Rogers, who was five seconds back.
Lampre rider Daniele Bennati was third, with Boonen fourth. It was the first stage win for 27-year-old Kessler in four Tours.
He said his T-Mobile team had been destabilised by the withdrawal of Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner forced out of this year's race along with Tour of Italy champion Ivan Basso and other riders because of alleged links to a doping ring in Spain.
"But we are professional cyclists. For us, it is important to hold our heads high and look forward," said Kessler. He said he has been in contact with Ullrich, whom he called a close friend, but would not give details."
Boonen will wear the race leader's yellow jersey in his native Belgium on Wednesday's stage four.
"It's something that happens maybe only once every ten years, so I think it will be special," he said.
The world champion's jersey "is the most beautiful of all and now I'm wearing the second most beautiful jersey of all," Boonen said of the Tour's famed yellow shirt. "I'm on a good schedule for the future."
He also holds the green jersey awarded to the best sprinter, and is aiming to secure it at the finish in Paris on July 23.
Boonen said he was slowed by a tire problem in the final stretch and "couldn't stand up or sprint" because he feared the tire would fail completely.
He also complained about the large crowds that lined the route.
There have been several accidents involving spectators this year.
Then-race leader Thor Hushovd was struck on Sunday by a giant cardboard hand held by a fan, cutting his arm, and French rider Sandy Casar said he was struck by a spectator on Tuesday.
Boonen noted that riders are doing 60 kilometers an hour (some 40 miles an hour) in their final sprints.
"There were some very, very dangerous moments in the final and I wasn't too happy about it," he said. "It was crazy."
Hushovd, who had held the race lead going into Tuesday's stage, placed 63rd and slipped back to fourth overall. He struggled on the final climb.
Rogers, the time-trial world champion, is second, just one second behind Boonen, with American George Hincapie third.
The already depleted Tour lost another favorite, Alejandro Valverde, to a crash on Tuesday's stage from Luxembourg through Belgium to the Netherlands.
The Spaniard crashed in the middle of the main pack of riders, causing a small pile-up, and the Tour Website said he fractured his right collarbone.
Grimacing in pain, he received medical treatment from the Tour doctor before being placed on a gurney.
American Fred Rodriguez and Erik Dekker of the Netherlands also were victims to a crash and were forced to abandon the race, reducing the field to 172 riders.
Rabobank racer Dekker suffered cuts to his face and was going to get a precuationary brain scan, said the Tour's doctor.
Rodriguez, of the Davitamon-Lotto team, injured his shoulder and wrist, said the doctor. His team said he suffered a concussion but no broken bones.
Rodriguez rode into a hole in the road, said his teammate Robbie McEwen
"That shouldn't happen in the Tour, such a hole in the road," said McEwen.
Christopher Horner, another American on McEwen's team, also was injured in a crash.
He finished the stage but it was unclear whether he would be able to take the start on Wednesday.
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