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Förster wins stage 3, retains lead in Portugal's Algarve tour
Gerolsteiner's Robert Förster won a mass sprint Friday in the third stage of Portugal's Volta ao Algarve, winning the stage while retaining his overall lead.
Förster took the 208km stage from Vila Real S.Antontio to Loule after his team and Quick Step pulled back an early breakaway, catching its lone survivor, Belgian Gianni Meersman (Française des Jeux), in the final 600 meters.
Belgian Jurgen Roelandts (Silence-Lotto) and the Frenchman Lilian Jegou (Française des Jeux) finished second and third in the sprint.
Milram captain Erik Zabel was 9th in the sprint and sits 5th overall.
"We rode quite cleverly today, but just didn't have that necessary bit of luck in the finale,“ said Milram director Jochen Hahn. "We kept an eye on the escapees the entire stage and were well positioned in the field. But it just didn't work out in the sprint.“
The five-day race ends Sunday.
