Alexander Kristoff again proved his great consistency when he finished fifth in the bunch sprint in today's third stage of the Tour de France. However, the Norwegian again missed the victory but has still not given up hope that he will be able to take a maiden Tour victory later in the race.

 

A final day on British soil brought the peloton of 196 riders into the heart of London with a sprint finish on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. Alexander Kristoff worked off of the wheels of his Katusha teammates to put himself in a prime spot for the sprint, taking fifth on the third stage of the 101st Tour de France.

 

"We had only one goal today – to try to win the stage," he said. "The team worked hard for that. The guys protected me during the stage and helped me to come back in the group after a flat tire.

 

"In the final, Gatis [Smukulis] was there at the end, then Luca [Paolini] and Aleksandr [Porsev] did a great job for me. In the final part of the race we tried to stay in front because it was too dangerous with the rain and slippery roads. The sprint was really fast and I tried to do my best, but it was not enough for a victory. We have other stages and I am motivated for a fight."

 

Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) took his second stage win, out-kicking Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Mark Renshaw of Omega Pharma – Quick-Step. There was no change on the classification and Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali wears the yellow jersey for a second day. Rounding out the top three are Sagan and Michael Albasini (Orica GreenEdge) in second and third at two-seconds off the leading time of 13:31:13.

 

"It was a very fast and dangerous stage in the final and because of the rain the road was slippery, so we had to go in front earlier than we planned before the stage," team director José Azevedo said. "So maybe Alex lost some additional energy. But anyway, the team was good and we brought Alex in a good position. He did a strong sprint, and we just missed the podium.

 

"For the next few stages we will have the same plan - to help Kristoff to win a stage. Our next try comes tomorrow in the first French stage. The motivation in the team is high, so we are looking forward."

 

Light rain fell on course by the time the peloton reached London, with slick roads and plenty of traffic islands making for a tricky finale. Team Katusha went straight to the front, with Luca Paolini, Aleksandr Porsev and Gatis Smukulis amassing on the left side of the course to protect Kristoff and put him in prime sprinting position. Kittel took the win from the front, with Kristoff hot in pursuit to earn fifth place. Kristoff was familiar with the course from the 2012 London Olympic Games where he earned a Bronze medal in the men’s road race.

 

Tonight the Tour de France riders and staff will cross the English Channel to France and prepare for Tuesday’s stage 2. The 163,5 km stage from Le Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille Métropole is another stage for the sprinters.