Sam Bennett of the BORA-hansgrohe team wins the sprint out of a compact group in Moulins to take the third stage of the 2019 Paris-Nice ahead of Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) and Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step).
Race leader Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma), winner of the first two stages, returned to the front too late to be a contender this time. The Dutchman still retained his overall leader’s yellow jersey with a six-second lead over Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) and 11 seconds over Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana)
The third day at Paris – Nice was another stage for the fast men in the peloton. The riders started in the city of Cepoy and a 200 kilometer-long parcours took them to Moulins/Yzeure. It was the first day without rain and heavy crosswinds, and it looked like everybody in the bunch was enjoying the ride after two demanding days.
Eight riders – Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Sky), Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), Tim Declercq (Deceuninck-Quk Step), Reto Hollenstein (Katusha), Anthony Turgis (Direct Energie) , Kevin Reza (Vital Concept) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Delko Marseille Provence) made the first break attempt at km 32 but were caught six kilometers later as Turgis was too dangerous in the GC.
Navardauskas managed to stay off the front and was soon joined by team-mate Alessandro Fedeli. The pack gave them the go-ahead and the two earned a maximum lead of 5:35 at kilometer 49. The peloton, led by Jumbo-Visma and Lotto-Soudal riders, kept waiting patiently for the finale while slowly bridging the gap with the escapees (2:00 with 70 km to go).
Bennett’s BORA – hansgrohe squad took it a little easier today, protecting their leaders in a cruising peloton. With 39 km to go, the break was caught and right before the lead up to the finale, a big crash effected the bunch. Unfortunately, Pawel Poljanski was involved but managed to get back on the bike without any injuries. When Team Sky stared to wind things up before the last intermediate sprint of the day, Felix Großschartner took the opportunity to grab one of the bonus seconds which puts him into 11th place in the GC after the day.
Team Sky tried really hard to force a split on the last six kilometers, a compact bunch entered Moulins/Yzeure. BORA – hansgrohe hit the front late to lead-out Bennett, but it was the perfect moment to deliver Sam him in a promising position. After opening his sprint pretty early, the Irishman was able to hold off the other fast men today, securing a stunning victory at stage three of Paris – Nice.
“I didn’t train that much in the cold this winter and therefore had some troubles the last two days,” said Bennett at the finish line. “But I knew the form is there and today I felt a lot better. Of course, the stage was also easier, but there are a lot of great sprinters here in the peloton this year. Groenewegen was almost unbeatable the last two days, but today everything went perfect for me. The boys did a great job, they knew exactly what to do on the last kilometer and delivered me in a perfect position. I want to thank the whole BORA – hansgrohe squad, I am more than happy with this stage win. I really wanted to pay back the hard work of the guys. It was a long sprint, but I knew I could do it. It seems like Paris – Nice likes me like I like the race.”
“After two intense and demanding days in cold and rainy conditions, today’s stage finished with the first real bunch sprint. Sam was up there and once again he showed his extra class. But I want to highlight the great effort of the whole team. Today everything went perfect and we are really happy with this win,” added Jens Zemke, Sports Director
Stage 3 Brief Results:
- Sam Bennett (BORA-hansgrohe) at 05h 16′ 25″
- Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) at 6″
- Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck – Quick Step) at 4″
- Daniel McLay (EF Education First) s.t.
- Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept – B&B Hotels) s.t.
- Niccolo Bonifazio (Direct Energie) s.t.
- Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
- Arnaud Demare (Groupama – FDJ) s.t.
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
- Edward Theuns (Trek Segafredo) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 3:
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 11h 47′ 44″
- Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) at 6″
- Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana Pro Team) at 11″
- Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck – Quick Step) at 16″
- Egan Bernal Gomez (Team Sky) at 17″
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