LONDON -- At this point, the top Tour de France sprint star might be called Sir Marcel. Forrest Lamp Jersey . Marcel Kittel, the German with a French first name, led a bunch sprint to win Mondays Stage 3 with a finish on the doorstep of Queen Elizabeths Buckingham Palace. Two days earlier, he courted royal attention as Prince William and Kate saw him win Stage 1 in Yorkshire in another sprint. The stage wrapped up the English debut to this 101st Tour edition, a rousing success among cycling-crazed British fans. Riders hopped on planes and bid "au revoir" to the UK before flying across the English Channel onto the races home turf. Rain in the City of London doused riders at the end of the 155-kilometre (96-mile) ride from the university town of Cambridge to a dramatic finish past landmarks Big Ben and Westminster. Italys Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall leaders yellow jersey with a 2-second lead over the most likely contenders to win the three-week race in Paris on July 27. Svein Tuft was the top Canadian in 138th place, 16 minutes 13 seconds off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, B.C., was 17:31 back in 154th. Kittel, led out perfectly by Giant-Shimano teammates, made it look easy as he sped down a final wide approach on The Mall with Buckingham Palace behind him. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was second and Australias Mark Renshaw was third. "Im really, really happy I could win in front of Buckingham Palace," said Kittel, who won four Tour stages last year. "It was one of the greatest finishes Ive ever seen in front of this great scenery." FIRST PARIS, NOW LONDON The hulking German made it a tale of two cities. He added London glory to his record after also winning on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, in the Tour finale last year. His job in the sprints got a lot easier after Britains Mark Cavendish pulled out of the race after injuring his shoulder in a crash in Saturdays Stage 1. "Its one big opponent that is not in the race anymore," Kittel said. "Of course, that changes things for me, but also for the team." Kittel is no threat for the yellow jersey. Like many sprinters, he struggles on climbs and fell nearly 20 minutes behind Nibali in the overall standings in an up-and-down ride on Sunday through the hills and dales of Yorkshire. Nibalis biggest challengers for the prized leaders shirt remain title-holder Chris Froome of Britain and Spains Alberto Contador, who finished with the same time as the Italian and Kittel in an 84-rider bunch. On Monday, the pack cruised nervously and let two breakaway riders go free on Monday. The duo was caught with about 6 kilometres (4 miles) left. EUROPEAN UNITY AMONG FANS? Tour officials estimated fans made nearly 5 million individual visits -- some may have attended more than one stage -- to the route in the first three stages. In signs of cross-Channel comity, Tour chief Christian Prudhomme took English lessons before the race; Britons waved both French tricolours and their beloved Union Jacks. But the teeming curbs, sidewalks and roadsides again caused trouble for the riders. With about 30 kilometres (19 miles) left, 2010 Tour winner Andy Schleck of Luxembourg was among riders who crashed briefly, and French TV showed a fan on the ground. Schleck, who gingerly returned to the race, said he didnt hit a spectator. "I guess it was my own fault," said Schleck, who collided with another rider and hurtled over his handlebars. His Trek Factory Racing teammate Jens Voigt said: "I saw about 15 crashes today. In the end there were two guys on the ground but I dont know what happened exactly ... Thats the Tour de France. The first week is always nervous." In other spills, Ted King of Cannondale and Jan Bakelants, a Belgian rider on Cavendishs Omega Pharma QuickStep team who wore yellow jersey two days last year, each scraped up their right elbows and knees. Some fans got political. A few held up placards imploring Prime Minister David Cameron not to back a U.S.-European Union free trade pact. Three topless protesters bearing slogans condemning female genital mutilation staged a brief protest near the Houses of Parliament before police bundled them away in fluorescent vests. The course route Monday notably bypassed Trafalgar Square, whose landmark Nelsons Column commemorates a British hero of the Napoleonic Wars. Stage 4 takes riders over 163.5 kilometres (105 miles) from Le Touquet-Paris Plage to Lille Metropole on the border with Belgium. Froomes Team Sky floated the idea that the pack might well ride under the sea rather than fly over it one day, if the Tour ever returns to the UK. The team released a glitzy video Monday saying that last month he became the first man to cycle through the Channel tunnel. In the video, Froome quipped: "This could be a really, really cool stage of a race." Travis Benjamin Jersey . - All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked spry enough in pregame warmups Sunday for Green Bays divisional playoff game against Dallas. LaDainian Tomlinson Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. http://www.chargersauthenticshop.com/Chargers-Rayshawn-Jenkins-Draft-Jersey/ . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points.SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong are moving forward into free agency, each prepared to explore their separate opportunities. At the same time, neither side is ruling out a reunion or coming back together at some point. The Giants declined to exercise Vogelsongs $6.5 million contract option for 2014 on Monday, but the parties agreed to keep open the possibility of potential negotiations down the road about a deal. "The doors open for dicussions with Vogelsong, but were not actively talking right now," assistant general manager Bobby Evans said Monday night. "Both sides are going to do some exploration of the market before we dive into that. I think it was somewhat the complexity of our overall needs going into the market ... to explore those fully, we need more time, and unfortunately we had to make a decision today." Vogelsong went 4-6 with a 5.73 ERA in 19 starts and 103 2-3 innings during an injury-shortened season. He broke two bones in the right pinkie area of his pitching hand and also dislocated a knuckle on a swing May 20 and underwent surgery the next day. He had five pins inserted in his hand during the procedure at Stanford, performed by orthopedist Dr. Tim McAdams. Vogelsong won 13 and 14 games, respectively, the previous two seasons. He is due a $300,000 buyout. Evans said the Giants didnt offer Vogelsong a contract with a lower guaranteed salary. "We did not put anything on the table. Theres no formal process where we go from here," Evans said. "I think Ryan has always had interest in being a Giant, but he has the opportunity to explore other options. Today doesnt eliminate his chances of coming back." San Francisco has been in discussions with lefty reliever Javier Lopez, and Evans exppects him to explore his options in free agency. Michael Schofield Jersey. "Theres an open mind about what could happen and were going to maintain contact," Evans said. The Giants already declined their 2014 options on Saturday for $126 million left-hander Barry Zito -- $18 million with a $7 million buyout -- and outfielder Andres Torres for $3 million with a $500,000 buyout. Yet with starters Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner each signed to long-term deals and two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum landing a $35 million, two-year contract Oct. 25. "These are three mainstays of our rotation, not only for the immediate past but going forward," Evans said. "This is the core of a solid rotation and we want to explore options on the market to make it better." In addition Monday, Evans said Giants 17-year-old outfielder Gustavo Cabrera -- a top prospect in the organization from last years international free-agent class -- flew to San Francisco for emergency surgery after an injury in his Dominican Republic home. The way Evans understands it, upon returning home from instructional league Cabrera slipped and tried to break his fall by raising his right arm but it went through glass and he nearly severed his wrist. The Giants top team of doctors worked on Cabrera, who is now able to move his fingers again. "How he flew to San Francisco in immense pain, Ill never know, a brave young man," Evans said. "Hes 17 years old. I dont think its career-threatening. We could be looking at a year or more of rehab to get him back to baseball activity." A right-handed hitter Cabrera batted .247 with two home runs, seven doubles, four triples and 22 RBIs with 21 stolen bases in 54 games for the Giants Dominican Summer League team this year. Cheap Denver Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys Cheap Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Clippers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys Cheap Phoenix Suns Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Houston Rockets Jerseys Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys Cheap San Antonio Spurs Jerseys Cheap Golden State Warriors Jerseys ' ' '