Peter Sagan won a thrilling uphill finish to Stage 3 of the Tour de France. Sagan pulled his right foot out of his pedal in the closing meters as BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet was closing on him, but Van Avermaet couldn’t take advantage of the stumble. Sagan regained his foot, and was too strong, proving he is still perhaps the best overall rider in the world.
Tour de France standings 2017: Peter Sagan wins thrilling uphill Stage 3 finish
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Van Avermaet slipped to fourth on the stage. Michael Matthews came from deep in the final train to nip Dan Martin at the line for second place. After a wet, crash-filled Stages 1 and 2, there should be no lasting damage from Stage 3, which reminds us that this sport can sometimes be normal and fun.
A hardy breakaway was hauled in late. What began as a six-man group became nine when Thomas de Gendt, Lilian Calmejane, and Romain Sicard broke from the peloton with roughly 60 kilometers to go. Eventually the break was whittled to Calmejane, de Gendt, and Pierre-Luc Périchon. Then just Calmejane, who broke from de Gendt on the last Category 4 climb, vainly hoping to hold his 50-second gap.
Calmejane, a strong, promising 24-year-old French rider, may be a force in the Tour in the future. Just under the 10k banner, however, he was caught, and the jostling for position at the front of the peleton for sprint position ratcheted up.
Van Avermaet and BMC led the steep, technical descent before the short final climb. Van Avermaet’s teammate, Richie Porte, flashed ambitions of a solo win before being caught by the pure muscle of Sagan and company behind him in the final 300 meters.
Romain Bardet had a scary moment in a crash that didn’t appear on broadcast but was announced on race radio. With roughly 50 kilometers to go, he was dropped off the back, and had to ride hard with two teammates to get back in contact with the peloton. Fortunately, he mitigated any losses.
The stage shook up the general classification standings. Geraint Thomas finished in eighth place to solidify the yellow jersey. He now leads by 12 seconds over Sky teammate Chris Froome, who jumped from sixth to second when he finished with Thomas on the stage.
Michal Kwiatowski maintained eighth place on the standings to emphasize Sky’s early dominance of the Tour. Through three very different stages, cycling’s evil empire has shown no weakness. Stage 5 on Wednesday, and its Category 1 mountain top finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, may be an early last chance for a challenger to step up and threaten Sky’s hegemony.
Stage 3 results:
1. Peter Sagan, Bora-Hansgrohe - 5h07’19”
2. Michael Matthews, Team Sunweb - +0:00
3. Dan Martin, Quick-Step - “
4. Greg Van Avermaet, BMC Racing - “
5. Alberto Bettiol, Cannondale Drapac - +0:02
6. Arnaud Demare, FDJ - “
7. Jakob Fuglsang, Astana - “
8. Geraint Thomas, Team Sky - “
9. Chris Froome, Team Sky - “
10. Rafal Majka, Bora-Hansgrohe - “
General classification after Stage 3
1. Geraint Thomas, Team Sky - 10h00’31”
2. Chris Froome, Team Sky - +0:12
3. Michael Matthews, Team Sunweb - “
4. Peter Sagan, Bora-Hansgrohe - +0:13
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Dimension Data - +0:16
6. Pierre Latour, AG2R La Mondiale - +0:25
7. Philippe Gilbert, Quick-Step - +0:30
8. Michal Kwiatowski, Team Sky - +0:32
9. Tim Wellens, Lotto Soudal - “
10. Nikia Arndt, Team Sunweb - +0:34
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