Team HTC-HighRoad's Matthew Goss sprinted to a fabulous stage win in stage 3 of the Paris-Nice 2011 race in France earlier today - a victory which has also netted the Australian rider the overall lead in the week-long race.

After dodging past a late crash involving Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas, Goss managed to out-sprint fellow Australian and former German Heinrich Haussler at the end of stage three's hilly 202 kilometer run from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to Nuits-Saint-George. Matt Goss afterwards said it had been a tough final sprint, which saw him dart from one side of the road to the other to avoid the fallen riders and then go for the win.

"It was certainly difficult, I was a little bit too far back in the last corner and was lucky to get round the crash, but once I got past them I had a straight run and it went well," Goss told Roadcycling.com/Roadcycling.mobi after the finish and continued "I was very motivated for today's stage, I knew if I could get over the final five-kilometer climb I'd be in with a good shot, the finish was perfect for me."

"We just missed out on the first sprint on stage one, the second one I was a little bit boxed in, but today it worked out fine."

"Tomorrow's a tough stage to defend the lead, but it's not impossible. There are two climbs about 50 kilometers from the finish, so hopefully I can get over them ok and at least hold it for another day," Goss added.

"It was a very scrappy finish, but they seem to suit Matt, he surfs the other teams lead-outs and then goes for it himself," HTC-Highroad's sports director Allan Peiper commented and continued "He just missed out yesterday [Monday], but today he really put the score straight."

In regards to Team HTC-HighRoad's quest to maintain the overall race lead Peiper says the team will take stage 3 "segment by segment to see if we can defend it."

"There's an early climb, so breakaways are bound to go, and we've got two GC guys as well, so it's a question of playing our cards tactically."

Goss has now won seven races this season, including a stage of the Tour Down Under and a stage of the Tour of Oman.

"It's been a perfect start to the year. I can only hope it keeps going for as long as possible," Goss concluded before jumping into the team bus to celebrate his stage win with his happy teammates.

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