BRANSON, Mo. — Christian Vande Velde won the time trial Wednesday to take the overall lead after the third stage of the Tour of Missouri.

Vande Velde, riding for Garmin-Chipotle, completed the hilly, 18-mile course through Branson in windy conditions in 39 minutes, 51 seconds.

Australia’s Michael Rogers (Team Columbia), a three-time world time trial champion, was second in 40:12, and Canada’s Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) followed in 40:24.

Vande Velde, the Boulder, Colo., rider who began the stage 24th, 20 seconds behind Mark Cavendish, took a 21-second margin over Rogers. Tuft was third, 44 seconds back.

George Hincapie (Team Columbia), the defending race winner, moved into the fourth position, 1:03 seconds back with a fourth-place finish.

“I was surprised,” said Vande Velde, who averaged 27.13 mph. “I wasn’t feeling 100 percent confident, particularly the past two weeks after the national championships. I just don’t think I’ve been riding that well.”

Rogers, who crashed out of the 2007 Tour de France while riding in the race lead, has endured a series of viruses.

“I’m getting back to where I was,” said Rogers. “The time trial is one of the reasons I came to this race. It was the hardest time trial I’ve don’t this year. Second to the riders in this field, including Christian, is certainly a positive.”

Cavendish, a sprinting specialist, finished 41st in the stage, 4:09 behind the winner. He fell to 36th position, 3:49 behind.

Today, the riders will face a 105-mile trip from Lebanon to Rolla. The event will finish Sunday with a 75-mile circuit race in St. Louis.