Stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné was decided right on the finishing line. Van Aert launched his attack on the summit finish to Chastreix-Sancy. He looked strong and was about to win the stage, yet celebrated too early in the end. His second win at this year’s Dauphiné was stolen by Gaudu who finished half a wheel ahead. Van Aert immediately threw down his head. However, he still retains the yellow jersey going into tomorrow’s fourth stage. Victor Lafay (Cofidis) finished in the last spot on the podium.
“In the end, I raised my arms a bit too early,” van Aert said after the stage. “I am actually really ashamed to lose it like that. A big disappointment to not finish off our work today. I had it in my own hands. If I threw the wheel rather than celebrating, I think I would have had it.
“It was just a rookie mistake. I’m ashamed because we worked really hard all day to go for the stage win, and to give it away like this it’s painful. I have to thank my teammates a lot, they were super strong and after we missed out on the stage win yesterday, we were really committed to go for it today. I saw it so many times with colleagues of mine, and sometimes laughed at it, but today I am the loser. No words, actually.”
Critérium du Dauphiné stage three results
- David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) – 04:09:38
- Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
- Victor Lafay (Cofidis)
- Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education-EasyPost)
- Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ)
- Nick Schultz (Team BikeExchange-Jayco)
- Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)
- Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious)
- Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team)
- Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)
Critérium du Dauphiné GC results
- Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) – 12:50:32
- David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) + 06
- Victor Lafay (Cofidis) + 12
- Patrick Konrad (BORA-hansgrohe) + 16
- Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team) + 16
- Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education-EasyPost) + 16
- Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) + 16
- Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) + 16
- Steff Cras (Lotto Soudal) + 16
- Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) + 16
