Peter Sagan won Stage 3 for his third win of the 2012 Tour of California in as many tries. Heinrich Haussler once again came in second place. The 114-mile stage featured a brutal nearly 11-mile climb up Mount Diablo midway through to test riders vying for the King of the Mountain title. The finish was all downhill, however. Haussler tried to get a jump on Sagan by breaking first with 100 meters to go. Sagan responded immediately to edge out Haussler and take the win and the associated time bonus.
The pair of Pennsylvanians racing in Tour still have yet to make much of an impact near the front of the pack. West Chester's Scott Zwizanksi came in at 4:58:34 on Day 3, nearly eight minutes off the winning time. Pittsburgh's Mark Friedman finished over four minutes behind Zwizanski. Optum Pro Cycling is still in last place among the 16 teams competing. Collectively, they are 25:52 behind the 10 teams tied for the lead.
Here are the Top 10 riders atop the standings after Tuesday. You can check out the full results at the official site of the 2012 Tour of California.
1) Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 14:34:54
2) Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda -:12
3) Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team -:24
4) Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy -:26
5) Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling -:26
6) Marc De Maar (Aho) UnitedHealthcare -:27
7) Markel Irizar Arranburu (Esp) RadioShack-Nissan -:29
8) Josh Atkins (USA) Bontrager-Livestrong -:29
9) Greg Van (Bel) Avermaet BMC Racing -:30
10) Lawson (USA) Craddock Bontrager-Livestrong -:30
For more on the Tour of California, please be sure to check out our StoryStream right here on SB Nation Philly.