SAINT-POURCAIN-SUR-SIOULE, France – Michael Matthews of Australia took charge of the week-long Paris-Nice race after sprinting to victory in the third stage.
Matthews, who claimed his first stage win in the Race to the Sun, enjoyed an impressive lead-out from his Orica-GreenEdge teammates to edge Italians Davide Cimolai and Giacomo Nizzolo in the finale of the 179-kilometre stage from Saint-Amand-Montrond to Saint-Pourcain-sur-Sioule in central France.
Matthews took the race leader's yellow jersey from previous leader Michal Kwiatkowski, who won Sunday's prologue, and was one second behind overall. – Sapa-AP