Lotto-Belisol Team rider Andre Greipel of Germany (R) sprints ahead of Liquigas-Cannondale rider Peter Sagan of Slovakia (L) on the finish line of the 13th stage of the 99th Tour de France cycling race Saturday. — Reuters LE CAP D'AGDE, France – Germany's Andre Greipel claimed his third victory of this year's Tour de France as Bradley Wiggins of Britain held on to the yellow jersey at the end of the 13th stage. Greipel, who rides for Lotto, finished just ahead of Slovakian sprint rival Peter Sagan (Liquigas) in a tight finish in which Wiggins astonizingly tried to set up Sky teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen. Norwegian Boasson Hagen could only finish third on the 217 km stage which began in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, but Wiggins said it was payback time. “Edvald's done a lot of work for me in the mountains, so we tried to pay him back by setting him up there at the finish,” said the Englishman. Greipel, meanwhile, was quick to praise the teammates who kept him at the front for a tough, late climb, helped eliminate some of his rivals and set him up for the finish. “The team did a great job for me today. It's amazing. You can be really happy with just one victory in the Tour de France, but this one is a bit special because of the Mont Saint Clair being there near the finish. We deserved this.” Despite a potentially treacherous finale due to crosswinds leading to Cap d'Agde, Wiggins stayed out of danger to retain his 2min 05sec lead over teammate Chris Froome. Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) is still third at 2:23 while Australia's defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) is fourth at 3:19. Greipel won stages four and five in this year's race and now has four in total, having claimed his maiden Tour stage in 2011. His main sprint rival Mark Cavendish (Sky), the winner of 21 stages but only one this edition, was one of a large bunch of riders left behind on the slopes of the Mont Saint Clair. — AP
