Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) will hopefully enjoy his day in yellow today.(Image credit: James Huang)
Green jersey wearer Alessandro Petacchi, Ivan Basso and race leader Sylvain Chavanel await the start of stage three.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre - Farnese Vini) wears green in stage three.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Sunny skies greet the peloton for stage three.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Tony Martin (HTC - Columbia) leads the young rider classification.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) rides to the sign-in stage.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
The Tour's jersey holders are front and center for the start of stage three.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Alberto Contador (Astana)(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Quick Step teammates Sylvanin Chavanel and Jerome Pineau hold yellow and the polka-dot jerseys respectively.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
Thor Hushovd hit out at the go-slow yesterday.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) and Mark Cavendish (HTC - Columbia) shake hands before stage three.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
George Hincapie (BMC) is hard to miss in his red, white and blue kit.(Image credit: James Huang)
Mark Cavendish (HTC - Columbia) is already out of the saddle, just 2km into the stage.(Image credit: James Huang)
Dimitri Champion (Ag2r - La Mondiale) was the first attacker of the day, shooting off the front of the peloton right as they crossed the official start line.(Image credit: James Huang)
Hincapie even stopped on the way to the start line to sign a fan's autograph.(Image credit: James Huang)
George Hincapie (BMC) takes the time to answer some questions.(Image credit: James Huang)
Farrar badly hurt his elbow on the Stockeu descent and the wound was already oozing through the bandage even before the start of Stage 3.(Image credit: James Huang)
Farrar's knee bears the signs of yesterday's crash.(Image credit: James Huang)
Tyler Farrar (Garmin - Transitions) emerges from the team bus badly beaten after hitting the deck yesterday.(Image credit: James Huang)
Thor Hushovd (Cervelo TestTeam) luckily made it through yesterday's crash-marred stage unscathed but was disappointed that he wasn't able to contest for points.(Image credit: James Huang)
The most combative rider earned the red number and yellow and green jerseys.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) adjusts his new glasses.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) couldn't stop smiling on his first day in yellow.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) all decked out in yellow from head to toe.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
In addition to their special jerseys, the Quick Step boys also earned best team (yellow number) and most aggressive (red number).(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Christian Prudhomme is pleased to see a Frenchman in yellow.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Mario Aerts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) had a visit from his family in Wanze.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
How do they do that so fast? Merckx provided Chavanel a green and yellow bike, signifying his lead in both classifications.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Sylvain Chavanel does double duty, autographs and press interviews.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Sylvain Chavanel is also congratulated by Radioshack DS Dirk Demol.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
The mountains classfication leader Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) stocks up on food for the day.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Erk Zabel congratulates Sylvain Chavanel on his yellow jersey.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) signs some autographs in Wanze.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Danish champion Nicki Sörensen checks out his bike before the start(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
Jens Voigt talks to German TV(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
All in yellow: Sylvain Chavanel(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
AG2R's Nicolas Roche will be happy when this stage is over(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
Lance Armstrong wasn't pleased when he bumped into a photographer at the start.(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
Thor Hushovd and Rolf Aldag explaining their point of views on yesterday's neutralisation(Image credit: Hedwig Kröner)
The Quick Step team of race leader Sylvain Chavanel signs in.(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
AG2R's bikes(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Lance Armstrong's Trek(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Lance Armstrong's Trek(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Radioshack's Allen Lim checks his messages(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Thor Hushovd's bike waits for him outside the bus(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Sky's bikes outside the team bus(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The startline was packed with fans(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Transitions) could try something today(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Posing with Levi Leipheimer's bike at the start(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) signed a new contract at Katusha. Here he signs for the fans.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Andy Schleck's Specialized(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Lance Armstrong rides to the sign in(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
A nervous looking Ivan Basso surveys the crowd(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Guess who? Cavendish on the team bus(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) will be hoping to open his stage win account today(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Will Eisel be let off the leash when the race hits the cobbles?(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Caisse's French contingent gather at the start(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Robert Gesink (Rabobank) will race with a broken bone(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Jonathan Vaughters (Garmin-Transitions) faces questions(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
After yesterday’s unusual finish, the Tour de France lurched towards normality as the riders and teams gathered at the start of stage 3 in Wanze, Belgium.
Ahead of the bunch lay 213km of relatively flat roads, including 13.2 kilometres of cobbles, split over seven sections.
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) looked resplendent in yellow, his freshly painted yellow and green bike the stand out feature by the Quick Step bus.
Meanwhile Jonathan Vaughters (Garmin-Transitions) put on a brave face after what he described as ‘the worst day the team had ever had in the Tour,” with Vande Velde crashing out and Tyler Farrar finishing but sustaining several injuries.
Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Testteam) was only focused on the future. The Norwegian was one of the few riders to disagree with yesterday’s neutralised finish. According to one Cervelo source he was more motivated than ever to win.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
