"It was bound to happen. In the Tour de France on a wide road like that in the descent at 80k an hour with a bunch of guys trying to pass Saxo on the right."

Those were the words of Astana's Tanel Kangert after stage three at the Tour de France. After more than 100km of racing, a heavy crash at high speed with more than a dozen riders forced race commissaires to stop the stage temporarily on Monday in order to treat the fallen cyclists for injuries and allow medical personnel to evacuate three men to local hospitals.

No Astana Pro Team riders were involved in the crash, but Kangert and teammate Lieuwe Westra passed by on the left side immediately afterwards and narrowly avoided catastrophe.

After nearly 20 minutes of waiting, the stage resumed with Astana riders setting a high pace to bring team leader Vincenzo Nibali to the front for the same hilly finish as the Spring Ardennes Classic 'Fleche Wallonne'. Nibali finished seventh, 11 seconds behind stage winner Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain and seven seconds ahead of rival Alberto Contador, also from Spain.

In the General Classification Nibali rose from 33rd to 13th overall, 1:38 behind new race leader Chris Froome of the United Kingdom. The 2014 Tour de France champion is now 1:02 behind Contador and 18 seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana of Colombia.

"I rode quite well on the last climb, but this time Froome was a level above the rest. We also looked for the stage win, but in these finales Purito is unbeatable.

"I had the feeling that in the end we climbed much faster than we do in Fleche Wallone. There are differences between classics and the Tour, and that was evident in the end. It is normal, they are different races.

"Yesterday thing went wrong and that cannot happen again. The team reacted and I think we did what we had to do, but there was a superior opponent who gained time, not much, but we have to try to take it back." 

Tuesday's much-anticipated cobblestone stage four could see more changes in the General Classification, and will require constant attention, strong legs and clear minds to battle with dusty and irregular farm roads normally used by tractors and heavy equipment to move around the agricultural fields of northern France.

"It's good opportunity for me. Last year I was lucky and did well. On that day it rained and the conditions now are different. Anyway I look forward to the stage. I will try."