The action really picked up some 30 km from the finish during the 196.5 km third stage of the Tour de France from Marseille to La Grande-Motte. That's when a gap emerged in the field while the riders were navigating a sharp right turn. 27 riders formed the new breakaway group, including the entire Columbia-High Road team as well as Cancellara and Armstrong.

"At the end, it was truly hard. The race unfolded with a lot of nervousness.

I told myself that it's better to ride up front than in the rear of the peloton. I received notification from the team car that we'd be hit with some crosswinds after that curve," Cancellara said, explaining why he wasn't caught by surprise.

The chase ran all the way to the finish line. The peloton wasn't able to catch up to them.

Fabian Cancellara finished the stage in sixth place.