Tour de Picardie

Stage 3:  Crépy-en-Valois to  Sissonne 174km/108mi

By Cathy Mehl

Racing in the Tour de Picardy came to a close today with Frenchman Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun) taking the final sprint win in front of Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Danilo Napolitano (Katusha).    The overall win went to Ben Swift in the first general classification win this season for Team Sky.  Rounding out the podium were Fernandez and Allan Davis (Astana).  The best-placed rider for Team RadioShack was Gert Steegmans on both today’s stage and the overall.

After the race team rider Sam Bewley commented, "Today wasn't so hard but the last 40km were nervous with cross winds. Sketchy sprint, caught up in a big crash 3k to go."

A trio of riders made up the break of the day and worked well during the stage, but Team Sky had their eye on the prize and kept control of the peloton.  Working to keep Swift in yellow, the escapees were caught to set up another sprint finish with Casper emerging the victor.

All eyes now turn to the Amgen Tour of California for eight days of competitive racing while The Shack look to make it four-in-a-row for Levi Leipheimer.  Check back often for plenty of up-to-date coverage straight from the roads of sunny California.

Top Ten Results

1              Jimmy Casper (Fra) Saur-Sojasun              4:02:06                   

2              Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                             

3              Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Team Katusha                      

4              Lloyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R-La Mondiale                                  

5              Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                      

6              Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                  

7              David Boucher (Fra) Landbouwkrediet                    

8              Allan Davis (Aus) Astana                                

9              Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team                    

10            Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne

Team RadioShack Results

15           Gert Steegmans (Bel)

26           Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)

30           Sébastien Rosseler (Bel

38           Bjorn Selander (USA) 0:00:04

50           Daryl Impey (RSA)  0:00:22            

51           Grégory Rast (Swi)  0:00:24

83           Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) 0:01:33

87           Sam Bewley (NZl)

Final General Classification

1              Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team  12:26:25                

2              Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi            0:00:07  

3              Allan Davis (Aus) Astana               0:00:10  

4              Russell Downing (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team      0:00:12  

5              Michael Van Stayen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator             0:00:16  

6              Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                     

7              Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom                                 

8              Steven Van Vooren (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator             0:00:19  

9              Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team Katusha   0:00:20  

10            Jimmy Casper (Fra) Saur-Sojasun              0:00:21

Team RadioShack on General Classification

30           Gert Steegmans (Bel)  0:00:45   

34           Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) 0:00:47

59           Grégory Rast (Swi)  0:02:05

69           Bjorn Selander (USA) 0:03:02

106         Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)  0:05:47

111         Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu)   0:06:02        

112         Daryl Impey (RSA)  0:06:15