Australian rider Heinrich Haussler of Castelli-sponsored Team Garmin-Cervelo won a windy third stage of the 2011 Tour of Qatar and grabbed the yellow jersey from former champion Tom Boonen (Team QuickStep).

Haussler, who also won stage 2 on Tuesday, paced himself over the 93.5-mile circuit from the seaside town of Al Wakra to Mesaieed to win another sprint finish in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 4 seconds from countryman Mark Renshaw and Daniele Bennati of Italy.

Former three-time winner Tom Boonen was well placed until he punctured a tire 30 miles from the end. He dropped more than 3 minutes overall behind the leader.

"We got the yellow jersey along with the points, so I am happy," Haussler said. "I didn't expect this. Unfortunately, Tom had a flat tire, but I am sure it's going to be a real battle."

An initial breakaway group of six riders built a 12-minute lead on Haussler and the pack, which broke up in the sidewinds. Swiss sprinter Fabian Cancellara was one of those who couldn't keep up. Most of the peloton was back together when Boonen punctured and he lost 55 seconds, but the gap kept growing as the leaders surged.

On the long final straight, Haussler came from behind to overtake Renshaw of HTC-Highroad and Bennati of Leopard Trek. Overall, Haussler has a four-second lead on Renshaw and 15 seconds on Bennati, with Boonen 3:11 back.

"Last night in the team meeting, we saw the patterns of the wind on the internet and worked according to a plan today," Haussler added and concluded "We treated this day pretty much as a one-day race and we got the results. Now we can really push ourselves in the last two stages."

The fourth stage Thursday is 95 miles from West Bay Lagoon in the northeast to Al Kharaitiyat.