Critérium du Dauphiné 2019 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

June 11, 2019

Critérium du Dauphiné 2019 – Stage 3 – Le Puy-en-Velay – Riom : 172 km

The headliners for this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné (June 9-15) include four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Ineos). The British rider missed last year’s Dauphiné owing to his Giro d’Italia ambitions but he returns to familiar territory with a team capable of taking overall honours for the seventh time in nine editions.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed a dominant sprint victory on stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné in Riom. The Irishman was led out expertly by Shane Archbold and then delivered a powerful acceleration to claim the honours ahead of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Davie Ballerini (Astana). Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) finished safely in the peloton to retain the overall lead.

Bennett has been among the season’s outstanding sprinters and his assured finish here was a further indication of his form. After Archbold swung off with 200 metres to go, Bennett showed no hesitation in unleashing his sprint from distance and the result was never in doubt from the moment he hit the front.

Van Aert showcased his strength to place a distant second, but a number of more established sprinters failed to make any discernible impact in the finale. Deceuninck-QuickStep fast man Alvaro Hodeg had to settle for 7th place, while André Greipel (Arkea-Samsic) was never in contention.

“It was a pretty chaotic final. I was a little worried about how my legs were after the last two days, and then it was so cold during the stage. You’re always going to feel bad when it’s that cold,” Bennett said afterwards.

Bennett owed a particular debt to the efforts of Archbold, who only rejoined Bora-Hansgrohe in April after beginning the season at Irish Continental outfit EvoPro Racing. The New Zealander hit the front in the final kilometre to tee up Bennett’s finishing effort.

“At the last moment Shane said ‘I’m still good, are you still on my wheel?’ and he hit it and took me to 200m to go,” Bennett said. “I felt really good in the final. I have to thank the full team again, they rode really hard all day and then the guys did a great job in the final putting me in a good position.”

The win was Bennett’s seventh win of the year to date after previous triumphs at the Vuelta a San Juan, UAE Tour, Paris-Nice and Tour of Turkey. Despite that remarkable haul, however, Bennett missed out on selection for the Giro d’Italia to eventual maglia ciclamino Pascal Ackermann, while Peter Sagan is expected to be Bora-Hansgrohe’s sprinter at next month’s Tour de France.

“I’m trying to get a win in each stage race I go to,” Bennett said. “It’s sometimes hard to keep that consistency all year. I’ve been doing pretty good in the stage races and just want to keep it going.”

Bora-Hansgrohe were among the several teams who controlled Tuesday’s stage and helped to ensure it finished in a bunch sprint, though there was a shortage of squads willing to take up the reins in the final kilometre and the pace dropped briefly after Dimension Data led through the flamme rouge.

With 800 metres to go, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) surged to the front and upped the speed once again at the head of the peloton, but it was Archbold who took over in the finishing straight, paving the way for Bennett’s winning effort.

Dylan Teuns enjoyed a quiet outing in the yellow jersey and the Belgian finished safely in the main peloton to retain the overall lead, 3 seconds ahead of Guillaume Martin (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and 20 clear of Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team). The general classification should take on a different complexion following Wednesday’s 26.1km individual time trial in Roanne.

“I would have also liked to have more sun on this beautiful yellow jersey. It is what it is. I enjoyed it a bit except it was really cold,” Teuns said. “I’m looking forward now to a second day in the jersey. Tomorrow is a really important day for the GC. I will try to defend the jersey. I did already some good time trials and I have a little advantage, so I hope it is possible to keep it after tomorrow.”

How it unfolded

After the previous afternoon’s attritional fare, there was a détente of sorts in the Dauphiné peloton in the opening kilometres of stage 3. The early break forged clear with precious little resistance, with Natnael Berhane (Cofidis) and Quentin Pacher (Vital Concept) breaking away almost as soon as the race left Le Puy-en-Velay.

On a day of spitting rain, the duo quickly established their advantage over the peloton, cresting the summit of the category 4 Côte d’Allegre with a buffer of 3:35. The escapees covered 37km in the opening hour of racing, while Bahrain-Merida and Arkea-Samsic set the tempo at the head of the bunch.

Berhane and Pacher’s lead began to dissolve slowly inside the final 80km and it dropped inside two minutes as they tackled the trio of category 4 climbs – Côte d’Augerolles, Côte de Courpière and Côte de Coulaud – that punctuated the third quarter of the stage. By that point, Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep had joined the pace-making effort at the front of the peloton, and it was clear that the sprinters would not be denied their opportunity in Riom.

With 25km remaining, Berhane and Pacher still had 50 seconds of their advantage but they were eventually swept up by the peloton with a little over 12km remaining. Team Ineos were prominent towards the head of the race on the run-in as they looked to keep Chris Froome out of harm’s way in a finale that saw Ruben Guerreiro (Katusha-Alpecin) come down, though without lasting consequence.

The sprinters’ teams took over once again in the frantic closing kilometres. Sprint opportunities are, as ever, at a premium on the Dauphiné, but Bennett has been snapping up every available opportunity this season, and the Irishman continued his sequence with a powerful effort here.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 4:15:25
2 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
4 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
7 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
8 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
9 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
10 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal
11 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Astana Pro Team
12 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
13 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
14 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
15 André Greipel (Ger) Arkéa Samsic
16 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
17 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
18 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
19 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Gobert
20 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Hansgrohe
21 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
22 Fabien Doubey (Fra) Wanty-Gobert
23 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
24 Neilson Powless (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma
25 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
26 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
27 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
28 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
29 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott
30 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Ineos
31 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
32 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
33 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Ineos
34 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
35 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Gobert
36 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
37 Florian Vachon (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
38 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
39 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
40 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida
41 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
42 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos
43 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
44 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education First
45 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
46 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
47 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
48 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First
49 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
50 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
51 Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
52 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
53 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
54 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb
55 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
56 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
57 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
58 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
59 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
60 Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
61 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
62 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team
63 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) EF Education First
64 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team
65 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Ineos
66 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
67 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
68 Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
69 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
70 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
71 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Dimension Data
73 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
74 Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
75 Cristian Camilo Muñoz Lancheros (Col) UAE Team Emirates
76 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates
77 Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
78 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
79 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
80 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
81 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
82 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
83 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma
84 Darwin Atapuma (Col) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
85 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
86 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
87 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida
88 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
89 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
90 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
91 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
92 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
93 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal
94 Jesper Hansen (Den) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
95 Hernando Bohorquez (Col) Astana Pro Team
96 Rafael Valls (Spa) Movistar Team
97 Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
98 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
99 Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
100 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
101 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
102 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
103 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
104 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
105 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
106 José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
107 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) CCC Team
108 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb
109 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
110 Yoann Bagot (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
111 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb
112 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
113 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
114 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
115 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
116 Maxime Cam (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
117 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
118 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
119 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
120 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
121 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:26
122 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
123 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
124 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
125 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
126 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
127 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
128 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:36
129 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida
130 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:00:44
131 Pawel Bernas (Pol) CCC Team 0:00:49
132 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:56
133 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First
134 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
135 Jacques Willem Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
136 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First
137 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:01:02
138 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
139 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:27
140 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
141 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
142 Jérémy Maison (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
143 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team 0:13:10
DNF Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
DNF Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida 11:52:28
2 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Gobert 0:00:03
3 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:20
4 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:24
6 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First
8 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos
9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Ineos
10 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
11 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:49
12 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:55
13 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
14 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) EF Education First
15 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
16 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
17 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates
18 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
19 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:32
20 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:50
21 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
22 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:59
23 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal
24 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Gobert
25 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
26 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:02:00
27 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
28 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education First
29 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
30 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
31 Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
32 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
33 Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
34 Rafael Valls (Spa) Movistar Team
35 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team
36 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
37 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida
38 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:27
39 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:34
40 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team 0:03:24
41 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
42 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:04:03
43 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:05:10
44 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team 0:05:45
45 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
46 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
47 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
48 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:06:11
49 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:07:29
50 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:09:01
51 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
52 Fabien Doubey (Fra) Wanty-Gobert 0:09:28
53 Neilson Powless (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:09:35
54 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
55 Darwin Atapuma (Col) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
56 José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
57 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
58 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb
59 Pawel Bernas (Pol) CCC Team 0:10:24
60 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:11:47
61 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:37
62 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
63 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Dimension Data 0:12:51
64 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos 0:14:20
65 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:14:56
66 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:14:59
67 Cristian Camilo Muñoz Lancheros (Col) UAE Team Emirates
68 Hernando Bohorquez (Col) Astana Pro Team
69 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:15:25
70 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
71 Jérémy Maison (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:16:04
72 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:16:27
73 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:16:29
74 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
75 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal
76 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb
77 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma
78 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
79 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:16:31
80 Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
81 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team 0:16:34
82 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:55
83 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:17:05
84 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida 0:17:07
85 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First 0:18:49
86 Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:19:33
87 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First 0:19:45
88 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott 0:20:09
89 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:20:19
90 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
91 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
92 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
93 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
94 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
95 Jesper Hansen (Den) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
96 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
97 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
98 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
99 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:21:10
100 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:22:45
101 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
102 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:23:43
103 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:23:44
104 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) CCC Team 0:24:39
105 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:24:40
106 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:25:45
107 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:25:55
108 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Wanty-Gobert 0:26:59
109 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:27:05
110 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:27:15
111 Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
112 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:27:41
113 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:27:59
114 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin 0:28:11
115 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:28:20
116 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Ineos 0:28:21
117 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
118 Jacques Willem Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data 0:29:17
119 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates 0:30:42
120 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:31:54
121 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:32:40
122 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin 0:32:51
123 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
124 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Ineos
125 Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
126 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
127 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
128 Yoann Bagot (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
129 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
130 Maxime Cam (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
131 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First 0:33:36
132 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:33:53
133 Florian Vachon (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:36:53
134 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data 0:37:01
135 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:37:04
136 André Greipel (Ger) Arkéa Samsic
137 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
138 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
139 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
140 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Hansgrohe
141 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
142 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
143 Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data