American Cyclist Captures Tour de France 3rd Stage

American Bunki Bankaitis-Davis captured today’s third stage in the women’s Tour de France as two-time champion Jeannie Longo of France took the overall lead.

Olympic champion Monique Knol of the Netherlands, the leader until today, plunged in the standings and now is 19th, 1 minute, 28 seconds behind.

Bankaitis-Davis took the day’s leg, a 36-mile jaunt from Martigues to Marseilles.

She was timed in 1 hour, 20 minutes, 7 seconds for the stage. For the stage, she was five seconds ahead of Longo, who went into the overall lead by 13 seconds.

Americans dominate the women’s standings, placing four in the top 10 of today’s stage and five in the top 10 overall.

French riders swept the top three positions in the 13th stage of the men’s Tour de France, meanwhile, giving their countrymen a gift on the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day.

Overall Standings Steady

Overall standings were unchanged, however, as Laurent Fignon of France and Greg LeMond of the United States remained in the top two spots.

Vincent Barteau, Jean-Claude Colotti and Matial Gayant were ahead of the pack in today’s leg, which covered 110 miles. Barteau was timed in 4 hours, 17 minutes, 31 seconds for the distance, with Colotti 45 seconds back.

At the end of the stage, Fignon, the 1983 and 1984 champion, still led LeMond by seven seconds.