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LILLE, France -- Marcel Kittel sprinted to his third stage victory at the Tour de France on Tuesday, while defending champion Chris Froome had a scare in a crash that scuffed up his left side and wrist before a tough day ahead on cobblestones. Astana team leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy, who kept the yellow jersey, decried a "crazy race" in the 163.5-kilometre (101-mile) Stage 4 along the Belgian border as cyclings big event entered France after a wildly popular three-day start in England. Unlike his wins in Stages 1 and 3, when he made victory look easy, Kittel eked out victory by a half-wheel length at the end of the ride from Le Touquet-Paris Plage to Lille Metropole. Kittel, of the Giant-Shimano team, didnt celebrate this time but panted and, instead, it was runner-up Alexander Kristoff of Norway who swatted the air in frustration after being pipped at the line by the barrelling German. French rider Arnaud Demare was third. After a difficult day because of crosswinds and jumpy nerves in the peloton, Kittel said of his seventh career Tour stage win, "Its never easy ... (I was) lucky just enough at the finish line." Froome, the Team Sky leader, fell early in the stage after a rider bumped another into the Britons front wheel. He got up, got bandaged, and got back to the pack. Afterward, team boss Dave Brailsford said Froome would undergo X-rays as a precaution. Slovak star Peter Sagan also went down in a spill, and he too recovered to finish. "It was a crazy race," said Nibali, describing how his team informed him through his earpiece about Froomes mishap, and went back to see whether he was OK. Froome responded, "more or less," according to the Italian. Froome went straight into the team bus and didnt speak to reporters after the stage. He skinned up his left knee, left elbow and hurt his left wrist in the crash, and was treated by race doctor Florence Pommerie before rejoining the peloton. She told French TV the injuries were mostly superficial and amounted to "essentially a few scratches." Froome and two-time champ Alberto Contador are among 20 riders who trail Nibali by two seconds. Christian Meier of Langley, B.C., finished tied for 132nd in the stage, 79 seconds back. Svein Tuft, also from Langley, was 2:51 behind the stage winner in a tie for 164th place. Overall, Meier holds the No. 141 position, nearly 19 minutes off the lead. Tuft is just behind in 144th. An aching wrist could mean pain ahead for Froome. The peloton rolls over nine patches of bumpy cobblestones on Wednesday, which could make for a joint-jarring ride and prevent him from keeping his hands on the handlebars. Many race experts believe Wednesdays 155.5 kilometres (97 miles) from Ypres, Belgium, to Arenberg Port du Hainaut, France, could offer the first big shakeout among the contenders because of the treacherous cobblestones. "Tomorrow, we just have to make it through the day," Nibali said. "Lets hope its not raining." Before the fourth stage, 2010 winner Andy Schleck dropped out because of a crash injury a day earlier. On Sunday, British sprinter Mark Cavendish quit the race after crashing in the final sprint in Stage 1 and damaging his right shoulder. Kittel has already acknowledged that his job is easier without Cavendish in the race. The Giant-Shimano rider is not a threat for the yellow jersey: Kittel is not a good climber, and lost nearly 20 minutes to Nibali in an up-and-down Stage 2. Cheap Air Jordan 5 . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. Jordan 5 Cheap China . Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour. http://www.cheapairjordan5.net/ . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Discount Air Jordan 5 . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State. Jordan 5 Cheap Real . No pretty goals on this night, just get to the front of the net and fight for a chance.CLEVELAND -- Karin Knapp and Camila Giorgi won the opening singles for Italy to lead the United States 2-0 in their Fed Cup first-round tie on Saturday. Knapp beat Christina McHale 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first match at Cleveland Public Auditorium, and Giorgi routed Madison Keys 6-2, 6-1 in the second. The United States has never won from 0-2 down since World Group play began in 1995. McHale, ranked No. 62 in the world, appeared to gain control after closing out thee second set by winning the last three games.ddddddddddddBut the 40th-ranked Knapp dominated the third set. "In the third set, I changed a little bit of my game because in the second set, I was playing too much cross-court," Knapp said. McHale had won her last four Fed Cup matches. In the second match, the 84th-ranked Giorgi dominated the 37th-ranked Keys. The winner will face the Spain-Czech Republic winner in the semifinals in April. ' ' '