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Landis leads after Vila wins stage
 Landis finished second on the stage but took the overall race lead PARIS, France (Reuters) -- American Floyd Landis took the Paris-Nice lead thanks to a breakaway on the final climb of the 168.5-km third stage with stage winner Patxi Vila Errandonea on Wednesday. They left the rest of the bunch in the final two kilometers of the first-category Col de la Croix de Chaubouret to cross the line in St Etienne with a lead of one minute 16 seconds over Spaniard Samuel Sanchez. World champion Tom Boonen, winner of the first two stages and leader at the start from the Beaujolais vineyards of Julienas, finished 36th. He was 5:48 behind Spaniard Vila Errandonea to surrender the yellow-and-white jersey to Landis. A former team-mate of Lance Armstrong, Landis, 30, was ninth in the Tour de France last year and the Phonak team leader will be one of the riders to watch in this year's edition after winning the Tour of California last week. "I knew I had good legs after my victory in the Tour of California but to take the jersey so early in the race comes as a bit of a surprise. I will do my best to keep the jersey now as it is important for the team and the sponsor," said Landis, who leads Vila Errandonea by nine seconds overall with Sanchez third, 1:13 adrift. Though Landis is now arch-favorite to win the first big stage race of the ProTour season on the French Riviera on Sunday, the day's honors went to Basque Vila Errandonea, who had never won a race in the professional ranks before. In the final stretch, he left Landis no chance, sprinting for a rare place on the top step of the podium. "It's the first but I hope it won't be the last. When I became a pro, I worked very hard to reach my main goal which was to become one of the best team mates in the world," said the Lampre-Fondital climber. "I think I succeeded in working well for others and it was now time to think about myself a little," he added. Thursday's fourth stage takes the bunch over 193km from St Etienne to Rasteau. 
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