Chris Froome takes Tour de France lead after incident-packed stage three
Joaquim Rodriguez wins on Mur de Huy ahead of Chris Froome on stage three of the 2015 Tour de France - Fabian Cancellara is involved in a crash and loses 12 minutes - Tom Dumoulin and Simon Gerrans withdraw from race
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) won a crash-affected stage three of the 2015 Tour de France on the Mur de Huy in Belgium on Monday as Chris Froome (Team Sky) took the race lead.
Despite crashing during the previous day's stage and suffering with a knee injury, Spaniard Rodriguez out-paced overall rival Froome on the steep final climb to claim the stage victory, with Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r) in third.
Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) lost the race lead to Froome after crashing heavily during the stage and falling off the pace in the fast finale of the stage to finish nearly 12 minutes down. The bonus seconds earned by Froome for second place saw him rise to the top of the overall classification ahead of Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep).
Bryan Nauleau (Europcar) instigated the break of the day, launching an escape from the gun. The Frenchman was soon joined by Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18), Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and Serge Pauwels (MTN-Qhubeka).
The peloton kept the break's time advantage in close check, and it only briefly hit the four minute mark 40km into the stage before the catch was made before the first categorised climb of the day - and of the 2015 race so far - the Côte de Bohissau.
Disaster struck before the riders reached the Côte de Bohissau, a touch of wheels involving William Bonnet (FDJ) saw a swathe of the peloton crash hard, including race leader Cancellara, Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge).
Race director Christian Prudhomme quickly neutralised the race, pulling his car to the front of the peloton and bringing it to a halt. Despite being in obvious discomfort, Cancellara rode back up to the halted bunch, but both Gerrans and Dumoulin abandoned.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
>>> Fabian Cancellara crash leads to race neutralisation during Tour de France stage three
Once the race had restarted after the neutralised Côte de Bohissau, crosswinds started to split the peloton with some frantic riding by Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo at the head of affairs to try and create a division. The injured Cancellara was one of those initially caught in a second group.
Stage two winner Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soundal) snatched the maximum points at the intermediate sprint with 30km to go, ahead of John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), and soon after the Cancellara group made the junction with the rest of the peloton.
Sky took to the front of the bunch over the fourth category climbs of Côte d'Ereffe and Côte de Cherave, with Cancellara and Greipel among those falling off the fast pace. Tinkoff-Saxo then took up the reins on the run-up to the Mur de Huy before Roman Kreuziger over-cooked a corner.
Froome led the pace with 500 metres to go with Contador on his wheel, but Rodriguez had the more explosive turn of pace to accelerate up the final part of the climb. Froome followed, as Contador dropped back but could not ride around Rodriguez as the Katusha man took the victory.
British rider Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) put in a strong climbing performance to finish eighth on the stage.
Froome now leads Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) by one second overall, with Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) in third at 13 seconds. Contador is eighth at 36 seconds, with defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) 13th at 1-38 and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in 17th at 1-51. Welshman Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) is ninth at 1-03.
Rodriguez takes the lead in the King of the Mountains classification for his efforts, with Greipel staying safe in the green jersey.
Tomorrow, the riders will face one of the toughest challenges of the opening week - and for some, the whole race - as the Tour reaches home soil in France. Stage four kicks off in Belgium at Seraing, but as it crosses the border it hits a series of cobbled sections towards the finish in Cambrai.
Valuable time could easily be lost or gained from crashes, punctures, bad weather or bad technique over rough road surfaces, and the general classification is likely to be shaken up once more.
>>> Tour de France 2015 stage four preview
Results
Tour de France 2015, stage three: Antwerp to Huy, 159.5km
1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha in 3-26-54
2. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at same time
3. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Ag2r at 4 secs
4. Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin at 5 secs
5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soundal at 8 secs
6. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 11 secs
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana
8. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge
9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar
10. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing at same time
Other
12. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo at 18 secs
188. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing at 11-43
Overall classification after stage three
1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 7-11-37
2. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx-QuickStep at 1 sec
3. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 13 secs
4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soundal at 26 secs
5. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 28 secs
6. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo at 31 secs
7. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx-QuickStep at 34 secs
8. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo at 36 secs
9. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky at 1-03
10. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx-QuickStep at 1-04
Other
13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana at 1-38
17. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 1-56
45. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge at 5-17
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
-
Five things to look out for ahead of the Tour of Flanders
Lidl-Trek's impressive form and Mathieu van der Poel's explosive start to the Classics season could make for quite the contest this weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
A bikepacking trip is the perfect way to see the last viewable solar eclipse in the U.S. for 20 years - here's how
Following a 115-mile-wide path, the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse will last just under four-and-a-half minutes and can be viewed from multiple U.S. midwest and east coast bike routes
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers say they will work with British Cycling to get Tour of Britain back on ‘as quickly as possible’
Ben Swift and Owain Doull both say it would be a "shame" were the Tour of Britain to be no more
By Adam Becket Published
-
‘We're now the hunter, not the hunted’ - New Ineos Grenadiers CEO commits to reclaiming top spot amongst WorldTour elite
John Allert outlines team’s targets and ambitions for 2024, including regaining Grand Tour dominance of old
By Tom Thewlis Published