Criterium du Dauphine: Sam Bennett wins stage 3

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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.

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