Stage 3 was a 7.4 kilometer individual time trial in and around Porto Vecchio. German rider Klöden, who also won a stage in the 2011 Paris-Nice race earlier this month, showed impressive form in the time trial, completeting the course in 00:08:47.

Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins finished 2nd, 4 seconds behind Klöden, Team Leopard-Trek's Jakob Fuglsang finished 3rd, losing 10 seconds, and Castelli-sponsored Team Garmin-Cervelo rider David Zabriskie completed the time trial in 4th position. Frank Schleck, who finished 12th in the stage, took the overall Criterium International victory.

"I was pretty confident before the time trial, but I was fearing a technical problem or maybe I would have bad legs," Criterium International winner Fränk Schleck commented and continued "I'm not a specialist, but everything went fine."

"This is not just a time trial victory, this is a nice time trial victory," a happy Andreas Klöden told Roadcycling.com and Roadcycling.mobi in Porto Vecchio on Corsica.

"When you beat guys like (David) Millar, Wiggins and Zabriskie, you know that you performed more than well. This result is maybe a consequence of my stage yesterday. I was disappointed yesterday. I had bad legs because of the long travel to the race. But that motivated me extra for today, especially when I saw the windy conditions. I cannot complain, we are just in March, but this is already my second victory of the season," Kloeden added.

Team RadioShack sports director Alain Gallopin was impressed by Klöden's time trial. "Already at the split time he was two seconds faster than Bradley Wiggins. Despite his age, Andreas is a fast starter and he never slowed down the pace."

When asked to comment on this, Klöden said "A long TT or a short TT, that doesn't matter to me." and added "In a stage race it is hard for everybody. When I can race against other tired riders, I am at my best. Mostly I need one or two race days to come into my rhythm. I had that day yesterday. 2011 looks like a good year for me and the team."

Andreas Klöden's next race will be the 2011 Tour of the Basque Country. "I stay motivated. I will start there to win the race or to help a teammate win the race. No, I am not afraid to be in good shape too early in the season. The Tour de France 2011 is indeed far away, but a rider needs hard races in the beginning of the season to perform well later in the year."

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