Cycling: Kittel claims third stage at Tour de France

Germany's Andre Greipel, left, France's Arnaud Demare, second left and third place, stage winner Marcel Kittel of Germany, center, Peter Sagan of Slovakia, second right. Photo / AP

Marcel Kittel has continued his incredible domination of the sprint finishes by claiming his third stage out of four at the Tour de France.

But there was a scare for defending champion Chris Froome who crashed early on and injured his left wrist on Tuesday.

There were no such worries for Vincenzo Nibali, though, who retained his race leader's yellow jersey.

Australian Mark Renshaw meanwhile dropped to third to finish 7th on Tuesday after OPQS put all eight riders on the front in the final five kilometres in anticipation of the bunch sprint.

Following victories in the first and third stages in England on Saturday and Monday, Kittel just edged out Norway's Alexander Kristoff on the 163.5km fourth stage from Le Touquet to Lille.

Despite also winning four stages last year, the 26-year-old German said he was surpassing his own expectations.

"Before the race I said my goal was to win one stage. I said last year it was unique to win four stages and wear the yellow jersey," Kittel said. "Yet again, it's a little similar this year.

"It's very unique and not something you can expect every time. I'm very happy it's working so well."

Elsewhere, the major news of the day was the crash that saw Froome hit the deck.

He will undergo an X-ray later on Tuesday as a precaution, his Sky team manager Dave Brailsford said.

Froome suffered grazing to his left thigh and elbow but it was his wrist that seemed to bother him most.

After a trip to the medical car, he came back with a splint on his left wrist and bandaging on his left thigh and right hand.

The other major news was the abandonment of former winner Andy Schleck with a knee injury.

The 29-year-old Luxemburger fell around 30km from the end of Monday's third stage but pulled out before the start of the fourth stage after tests showed he had damaged ligaments and the meniscus.

-AAP