Cycling: Roulston battles in Paris-Nice

New Zealand cyclist Hayden Roulston battled to finish 43rd in the third stage of the Paris-Nice race today, nearly three minutes behind new leader Sylvain Chauvenal (France).

Riding for the Cervelo TestTeam, Roulston overcame gusty winds, rain and a testing 178km course from Orval to Vichy to record a solid midfield finish.

Chauvenal took stage honours in four hours 33 minutes 12 seconds, and now wears the yellow jersey, 33 seconds ahead of Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate.

Roulston, 2min 50sec down on Chauvenal for the stage, lies 47th on general classification, 3min 19sec down on the tour leader.

The Paris-Nice finishes on March 15, with tomorrow's fourth stage a challenging 173km from Vichy to St Etienne.

- NZPA