Tyler Farrar became the first American to win a Tour de France stage on July 4, dominating a sprint finish in the third leg Monday as teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the yellow jersey. It was the first Tour stage victory for Farrar, one of the world's best sprinters, and showcased the dominance of the Garmin-Cervelo team over the past two days at cycling's greatest race. The 198km flat route from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon in western Brittany favored sprinters such as Farrar, Mark Cavendish of Britain, Italy's Alessandro Petacchi, Tom Boonen of Belgium and Hushovd. As he crossed the finish, Farrar held up his hands to make out a “W” with his fingers to honor Wouter Weylandt, the Belgian who died in a crash during the Giro d'Italia in May. Cavendish's HTC-Highroad team had lined up to escort the British speedster to the finish from near the 4km mark, but by the last few hundred meters Hushovd and Farrar had zoomed ahead. At the finish, the American nosed ahead of France's Romain Feillu, who was second, and Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain in third. Farrar and a pack of riders clocked the same time: 4 hours, 40 minutes, 21 seconds. Cavendish was, however, disqualified from an intermediate sprint during the stage. The HTC-Highroad cyclist crossed the intermediate sprint line in sixth place, but race officials ruled he shouldn't have used his head to push Hushovd, who had deviated from his line. Hushovd, who leads the race, was also disqualified from the sprint. Defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain, who lost time Saturday after getting entangled in a crash, is 69th overall — 1:42 back of the Norwegian leader.
