REDON, France, July 4 (UPI) -- American Tyler Farrar captured Stage 3 of the 2011 Tour de France Monday while teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway retained the yellow jersey.
Farrar of the Garmin-Cervelo squad won a sprint to the finish in the 123-mile stage from from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon, logging a time of 4 hours, 40 minutes, 21 seconds to claim his first-ever Tour stage win.
Farrar had to outpace Frenchman Romain Feillu and Spaniard Jose Joaquin Rojas down the stretch to claim the win.
During his victory celebration he remembered his good friend Wouter Weylandt of Belgium, who died in a crash during the Giro d'Italia in May.
Hushovd and 171 other riders clocked the same time as Farrar, and thus the Norwegian retained the top spot with a time of nine hours, 46 minutes, 46 seconds.
Less than a second behind him was teammate David Millar of Britain, while Australian Cadel Evans of Team BMC was in third, only one second back.
Two-time defending champion Alberto Contador ended the day 1 minute, 42 seconds off Hushovd's pace, good for 69th place.
