Luis Leon Sanchez takes the overall lead in Châtel-Guyon
Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) claimed victory on stage 3 of Paris-Nice (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) won stage 3 at Paris-Nice Tuesday after he out-sprinted Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) at the finish line in Châtel Guyon. Remy di Gregorio (Delko Marseille Provence) finished third.
The trio went clear over the top of a late category 3 climb and finished 39 seconds ahead of the peloton. Sanchez took the race lead from Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and now leads with a 28-second advantage over the Frenchman. Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) is third at 35 seconds back.
The three riders in the winning breakaway weren't the only agressors of the day, however, as Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) was the first to attack on the climb, followed by Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), but they were reeled back in by a group of 20.
There were series of other attacks in short succession of each other during the closing kilometres of the last climb before Sanchez made the move of the day, with di Gregorio following and Hivert next to latch on.
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