Cycling: The third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné was made for the sprinters, who almost let themselves be duped in the final. But only almost. With a clever driving style, Cottbusser Nikias Arndt (Shimano-Giant) was able to celebrate at the end.
The 194-kilometer stage from Ambert to La Teil was initially characterized by a three-man lead group. Blel Kadri (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Cesare Bendetti (NetApp-Endura) and Natnael Berhane (Europcar) were able to open up a lead of almost four minutes in the meantime. With temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius and a sprinter-friendly profile, their advance was not blamed for luck.
After 170 kilometers the group was back. Jens Voigt (Trek) from Berlin took this as an opportunity to break away together with Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol) from Denmark and six other drivers. And their advance looked promising at first. With ten kilometers to go, the lead was still just under half a minute. In the field, however, there was disagreement. It wasn't until Giant-Shimano, Orica-GreenEdge and FDJ.fr got into the leadership role that the group's chances were gone.
The next push came just under three kilometers before the finish line. The Dutchman Lieuwe Westra (Astana), who is known as a good time trialist, was able to gain a small lead. In the last kilometer, however, he was back in the field.
Arndt then showed the best eye and the most power on the winding finish line. In the end, the man from Cottbusser narrowly relegated the Belgian Kris Boeckmans to second place and was able to look forward to another great success in his young career. Reinart Janse van Rensburg, one of Arndt's teammates, came third.
There were no changes in the overall rating. Briton Chris Froome (Sky) continues to lead here.
Criterium du Dauphiné – Result
Criterium du Dauphiné – Overall