There was only one classified mountain on stage 3 of the Tour: a bridge.
And what a bridge.
A group of five riders broke away from the peloton in a bid to claim the solitary point on offer for the King of the Mountains jersey at the "summit" of the mountain... er bridge. (See video below)
At 66m the bridge (Côte du Pont de Saint-Nazaire) split the peloton in two but the crosswinds did not prevent the stragglers from rejoining the pack and finishing the stage with a bunch sprint.
Mark Cavendish is in the spotlight once again: he won the peloton's sprint for the intermediate green jersey spoils but came in contact with current yellow jersey wearer and main contender for the green, Thor Hushovd. (Click for video)
Later Cavendish was bumped and forced off his racing line in the build up to the finish. The stewards decided to punish both Cavendish and Thor Hushov for the argy-bargy by taking back the points they accumulated on the stage. No doubt there will be appeals galore tomorrow.
The stage was won by Tyler Ferrar who became the first American to win a Tour stage on 4 July.
In spite of puncturing his rear tyre at the halfway point, Nicolas Roche finished safely in the pack with the same time as all the top finishers.
Tour de France 2011: Cavendish punished as Farrar wins (BBC)
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