Second stage win for Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) at the Criterium du Dauphine 2023. The overall leader took the lead on Tuesday on the third stage after 194.1 kilometres from Monistrol-sur-Loire to Le Coteau ahead of Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla) through. Bennett and Groenewegen were relegated to 33rd and 34th place after the stage due to their behaviour in the sprint. This meant that Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny) in second and third place. Laporte had already triumphed in the opening stage on Sunday.
The top 10 of stage 3
- Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) 4:43:28
- Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) +0:00
- Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny) +0:00
- Hugo Hofstetter (Arkea-Samsic) +0:00
- Matevz Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Axel Zingle (Cofidis) +0:00
- Madis Mihkels (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) +0:00
- Martin Urianstad (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) +0:00
- Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
Laporte also extended his lead in the overall standings with his second victory of the day.
The current overall standings
- Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) 12:21:28
- Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:11
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost) +0:17
- Rune Herregodts (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) +0:19
- Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) +0:23
- Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:23
- Marco Brenner (Team DSM) +0:23
- Edvald Boasson-Hagen (TotalEnergies) +0:23
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) +0:23
- Axel Zingle (Cofidis) +0:23
How the 3rd stage of the Criterium du Dauphine 2023 went
After the start, two riders initially pulled away from the peloton: Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Lorenzo Milesi (Team DSM), who pulled out a lead of up to six minutes.
However, Milesi was caught by the peloton on the climb to the Cote de Bellevue-la-Montagne (2nd category). After 74 kilometres, Burgaudeau was also caught again. A little later, there was a protest on the course, which held up the race but did not significantly affect it.
Afterwards, the riders took it easy on stage 3 of the Criterium du Dauphine. It wasn't until around 50 kilometres before the finish that a mass crash in the peloton caused a stir, as a result of which Andrey Zeits (Astana Qazaqstan Team) had to abandon. There were two more crashes in the last two kilometres that shook up the peloton.
The Bora-Hansgrohe train was unimpressed at the front and prepared the sprint for Sam Bennett. The Irishman was the first to go, closing the door on Dylan Groenenwegen at the barriers, but Laporte passed him on the other side and secured his second stage win of the 2023 Criterium du Dauphine. The behaviour of Bennett and Groenewegen had consequences after the stage. They were relegated to 33rd and 34th place by the jury.
