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Chris Froome takes Tour de France lead

By , Reporter
Chris Froome finishes second behind Joaquim Rodriguez in the third stage of the Tour de France to take the overall lead in the race.

Britain's Chris Froome has taken the overall lead in the Tour de France after finishing second in the third stage of the race this afternoon.

The 30-year-old finished just behind Joaquim Rodriguez, in a race that was temporarily neutralised due to two crashes.

Great Britain's Christopher Froome celebrates his overall leader yellow jersey on the podium at the end of the 159.5 km third stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 6, 2015© Getty Images

Froome earned six bonus seconds, which has taken him top of the general classification and one second ahead of Germany's Tony Martin.

"I definitely didn't wake up today thinking I was going to be in yellow by this evening," Froome told Sky Sports News. "That was a real surprise. I knew there would be gaps up on that final climb but I really didn't expect it to be that significant, to be able to get into yellow."

Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara had gone into the race as the overall leader, but he lost 12 minutes after being involved in a pile-up.

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