Monday's stage: A 123-mile flat route from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon ending in Brittany and tailor-made for sprinters.

Winner: Tyler Farrar, above, of the Garmin-Cervelo team becomes the first American rider to win a Tour stage on July 4th.

Yellow jersey: Thor Hushovd kept the overall lead. The world champion showed he is also an unselfish teammate by helping Farrar to the line.

Where's the champ? Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is 69th, 1:42 off the lead and 1:38 behind Andy Schleck, last year's Tour runner-up.

Next stage: Tuesday's 107.1-mile fourth stage from Lorient to Mur-De-Bretagne features a very difficult finish with a 2-kilometer ascent. Mur-de-Bretagne has been nicknamed "L'Alpe d'Huez of Brittany" because the last climb has an average gradient of 6.9 percent with some sections at 15 percent.

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