Team Sky's Greg Henderson leads Tour of California

Henderson crosses the line in Modesto

Team Sky rider Greg Henderson took the overall lead in the Tour of California from team-mate Ben Swift after winning the third stage in Modesto.

Henderson, who began the day 10 seconds behind Swift, moved to the front in the final 500m to finish in a time of five hours, 14 minutes and 29 seconds.

Juan Jose Haedo finished second and Thor Hushovd came third.

The competitors battled strong winds and occasional rain and finished 45 minutes later than expected.

At one point the early breakaway riders had established an eight-minute lead but they were slowly reeled in to set up a second straight sprint finish.

Henderson is now on the same overall time as Swift with Slovakian Peter Sagan four seconds adrift in third.

"We came to the Tour of California with a super strong team," said Henderson. "Unfortunately Michael Rogers is sick, so we had to change things up a bit.

"We have two great sprinters with me and Ben Swift, so it's either me leading him out or him leading me out.

"There was a lot of chaos on the final lap. We were all lined up. With 100m to go, I thought no one had come around me, so I just kept my head down. I was absolutely spent at the line."

Jens Voigt, Jesus Del Nero Montes, Will Dugan and Andreas Schillinger all suffered minor injuries in crashes during the final miles but they finished the stage and are expected to continue racing.

The fourth stage - stage one was cancelled due to inclement weather - takes place on Wednesday and is an 81.8-mile leg from Livermore to San Jose.