Tour de France Stage Report: Stage 3 was always going to be a day for the sprinters, and the fast-finishers didn’t disappoint with an exciting final kilometre. In crash riddled last kilometres, the sprinters battled it out in the last metres with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) hitting the front a little too early allowing Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) to squeeze past him for the Eritrean to win his first Tour stage. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) finished ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) to take the yellow jersey.
*** Full ‘Tour Stage Report’ very soon. ***
Stage 3 last kilometre
The first sprint in the 2024 Tour de France was won by Biniam Girmay. The 24-year-old Intermarché-Wanty rider managed to take control of the sprint after a chaotic final in Turin, finishing ahead of Fernando Gaviria and Arnaud De Lie. Richard Carapaz crossed the line in 14th place and took over the yellow leader’s jersey from Tadej Pogačar.
Biniam Girmay takes his first Tour de France stage win
Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France general director: “The sprinters will have started the 2024 Tour with their teeth gritted, but now they’ll have something to sink them into with the finish in Turin. Prior to that, the peloton will pay a passing tribute to Fausto Coppi by heading through Tortone, where il campionissimo died. By that point, though, the sprinters’ domestiques will already be hard at work, their focus on ensuring a sprint finale. There’ll be little room for manoeuvre for the breakaway riders.”
Stage 3 profile
The third day of the Tour de France might suit the sprinters, but it is far from easy. The riders have 229 kilometres to ride from Piacenza to Turin, where a bunch sprint is very likely. There is the Cote de Tortona-Fausto Coppi (1.1km at 6.3%), the Cote de Barbaresco (1.5km at 6.5%) and the Cote de Sommariva Perno (3.1km at 4 .6%), all Cat.4 climbs. The finish is in Turin, capital of the Piedmont region, which has impressive architecture and art because of its Roman history. The city also has a sports history, it hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics, is home to football clubs Juventus and Torino and the finish of the World’s oldest bike race: Milan-Turin, which usually ends in a bunch sprint.
Could it be Mark Cavendish’s day?
Tadej Pogačar suits yellow
At the finish in Turin, there wasn’t only a stage victory up for grabs, but also the overall lead. The first four riders on GC: Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz, were all on the same time. Whom soever finished in the best place on the stage, would probably take over the yellow jersey.
Aero or sun protection for Dylan Groenewegen?
KOM and points leader Jonas Abrahamsen – Probably won’t lose the green jersey today, but will keep the ‘maillot à pois rouges’ (he kept both)
With Tadej Pogačar in the yellow jersey, the Tour left Piacenza for the longest stage of the 2024 Tour de France. There was some enthusiasm to be in the early break, but no one put in a real attack. After about 7 kilometres, two riders from Uno-X Mobility decided to try something.
Belgian champion, Arnaud De Lie must be a good bet for his first Tour stage win
Jasper Philipsen also has a good chance today
Johannes Kulset, the youngest in this years Tour, and Jonas Abrahamsen, the leader of the KOM and points classifications, jumped away. The two Norwegians soon increased their lead to 1:30. This was short-lived, as Kulset and Abrahamsen decided it wasn’t worth the effort and waited for the peloton.
Jonas Vingegaard looked good on stage 2
The jerseys at the start in Piacenza: Madouas, Pogačar, Abrahamsen, Evenepoel and stage 2 winner, Vauquelin
No one in the peloton wanted to go up the road, so the sprinter’s teams took control. Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck were working for a sprint. Tim Declercq and Silvan Dillier went to work for Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen, two of the biggest favourites for the stage win. Abrahamsen took 1 point for the KOM classification on the Côte de Tortone (1.1km at 6.3%), the first climb of the day.
Will we see the World champion going for the stage win, or will he be leading out Jasper Philipsen?
Just under 140 kilometres from the finish there was an intermediate sprint in Alexandria, where Pedersen was first. The Dane was faster than Philipsen and Bryan Coquard for 20 points, although at the finish there were 50 points for the winner, which was more important. After the sprint, calm returned and Dillier and Declercq took their places at the front of the peloton again.
Good to see Tim Declercq back at work, but strange not seeing ‘El Tractor’ in Quick-Step kit
On the second climb of the day, the Côte de Barbaresco (1.5km at 6.5%), with its summit 80 kilometres from the finish. Abrahamsen went for the 1 point on this Cat.4 climb, but Matteo Sobrero (BORA-hansgrohe) jumped away for his first KOM point, he was then caught by the peloton.
The peloton knew it was a sprinter’s day and stayed together mostly
When Sobrero was caught, another rider attacked. Fabien Grellier (TotalEnergies) thought this was a good time for a solo. The 29-year-old Frenchman soon had a lead of 40 seconds and he was the first rider at the summit of the last climb before Turin, the Côte de Sommariva Perno (3.1km at 4.6%). At the top, the lone leader still had 50 kilometres to go to the finish. This was too much for Grellier, but he was awarded the prize for Combative Spirit. Entering the last 30 kilometres, the peloton caught him.
Wine country
Once Grellier was pulled in, the sprint trains could prepare for the final kilometres. The pace increased and so did the nervousness in the peloton. Before the start of the last 10 kilometres, Casper Pedersen crashed. The Soudal Quick-Step Dane looked bad, but was still able to continue. Soon after that, Bruno Armirail also hit the road surface, also without serious damage. There was now a battle for the best positions for the fast men. Philipsen had to make his sprint without the lead-out of Mathieu van der Poel in the final. The World champion needed a bike change about 5 kilometres from the finish and would not see the front of the peloton.
Torino is that way for Fabien Grellier
The pace kept the peloton in a ling thin line into the finale
It was a hard fought for sprint
A very emotional win for Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny)
Stage winner, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “It’s my time, I’m very happy. Our plan was to aim for this sprint with Gerben Thijssen, either for him or for me. Finally, in the finale I found myself in a good place and I felt like I could go, so I gave it a try for myself. It’s huge because winning the Tour de France means winning in front of the best sprinters. This victory means a lot to me, to my team which has been waiting a long time to win a stage, for my country and also to all of Africa. Now we are really part of the big races. We have a lot victories so it’s our time, it’s our moment. I never cry, but inside I am, I just have no words.”
Overall leader, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): “Honestly, getting the Yellow Jersey is a surprise. Before the Tour, it looked very far away. In the Tour de Suisse I had a crash and then was out of action for a couple of days due to illness. However, yesterday’s stage was a big change in mentality and an injection of confidence. This morning, at the meeting on the bus, we set it as a goal. We knew it would be a nervous and dangerous sprint, but we wanted to do everything we could to get this yellow jersey. My teammates worked phenomenally in the last 25 km; especially Marijn Van der Berg, who sprinted next to me. It was a great job by the entire team. Wearing this Yellow Jersey means a lot for me, for my country and for my team. There are very few Ecuadorian cyclists at the elite level, and every achievement we get helps us develop this sport in our country. On a personal note, this Yellow Jersey is very exciting. In recent years I have spent a lot of time away from home and my family to take another step in my sporting career. It is for them, for my family, that all this effort is worth it. This Yellow Jersey is a reward for all our sacrifice and it’s dedicated to them.”
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Tour de France Stage 3 Result:
1. Biniam Girmay Hailu (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty in 5:26:48
2. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Movistar
3. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Dstny
4. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
5. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jayco AlUla
6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
7. Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
8. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
9. Sam Bennett (Irl) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
10. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 3:
1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost in 15:20:18
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike
5. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:06
6. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:21
7. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
8. Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers
9. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
10. Aleksander Vlasov (-) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
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