Cofidis rider Samuel Dumoulin ended Borut Bozic's winning run at the Etoile de Bessèges when outsprinting him to land the third stage on Friday as Team Sky again covered all moves in the main peloton.

Vacansoleil's Bozic had taken the opening two stages of the race and had hopes of a hat-trick at the end of the 148km route from Pont Saint Esprit to Bagnols sur Ceze as another bunch sprint beckoned.

But this time he was a clear second best to Dumoulin, with Tom Veelers of Skil-Shimano filling the third position on the podium.

The field came together with a few kilometres to go after a breakaway, which had an advantage of nearly four minutes at one point, was swallowed up - setting up the third sprint finish in as many days.

Solid ride from Team Sky

Team Sky were again to the fore, all seven riders finishing in the bunch and credited with the same time as the winner. Michael Barry led home the squad in 49th position, ahead of John-Lee Augustyn, Steve Cummings, Sylvain Calzati, Nicolas Portal, Peter Kennaugh and Morris Possoni.

We caught up with Michael Barry after Friday's stage and he told us: "It started fast and the attacks were relentless for the first two hours.

"We rode well as a team and corrected any mistakes quickly by reacting as a unit. Once the four riders forged a gap the peloton set into a steady tempo behind to close the gap - the break was never a threat."

Meanwhile Bozic's second place on the stage means he retains his lead in both the general classification and the sprint standings.