Cycling-Sagan wins third stage in California

By Rory Carroll

May 16 ( Reuters) - Slovakia's Peter Sagan turned on the jets during the final uphill stretch to clinch the third stage of the Tour of California on Tuesday.

Sagan, a two-times world road race champion, clinched the relatively flat 192.5km stage into Morro Bay, but his Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Rafal Majka retained the yellow jersey he won on Monday's hilly ride through Northern California.

Majka leads Lotto NL-Jumbo's George Bennett with Team Sky's Ian Boswell third in the overall standings.

Daniel Jaramillo of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling is leading the King of the Mountain competition.

Monday's stage included a violent crash by Latvian rider Toms Skujins, who suffered a concussion, a broken collarbone and grazing that forced him to withdraw from the race.

The seven-day race continues on Wednesday with a 159.5-km ride from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita.

It is the first time the race has been staged as part of the World Tour, a designation that organizers hope will draw more top names in the sport from Europe.

However this year it also being held at the same time as the Giro d'Italia, with many of the sport's biggest names competing there rather than in California.

The race finishes in Pasadena on May 20.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)