Caleb Ewan picked up the stage three win on Monday, overcoming a headwind to overtake five riders in the final 100 meters of the 198-kilometer (123-mile) stage from Nice to Sisteron.

The Australian hugged the barrier to sneak through the pack before edging past Irishman Sam Bennett at the finish line.

Julian Alaphilippe, who donned the yellow jersey after his stage two win on Sunday, kept the overall lead, the Frenchman maintaining a four-second advantage over Briton Adam Yates.

Jerome Cousin led most of the stage before being enveloped by the peloton with 16.3 kilometers remaining.

Slovakian sprint specialist Peter Sagan earned the Green jersey as the points leader after overtaking Norwegian Alexander Kristoff in the points classification. Cousin earned the most points in the stage with the strongest intermediate sprint.

Anthony Perez was poised to take the polka dot jersey — worn by the tour's top climber — from Benoit Cosnefroy winning the first two mountain classifications. But Perez broke his collarbone in a crash with 70 kilometers to go, forcing him to retire from the tour.

The next stage: After three stages starting in the coastal city of Nice, the tour now heads to the mountains. The competitors will ride a hilly 160.5 kilometers from Sisteron to Orcières-Merlette, the first summit finish of the race. Orcieres-Merlette is 1,825 meters (5,988 feet) above sea level and home to the Hautes-Alpes resort. The stage finishes with a grueling 7.1-kilometer stretch with a 6.7 percent slope.

dv/mds (Reuters, SID)