The Frenchman from the Jumbo-Visma team fell on the 3rd stage in a mass sprint, but then reached the finish line a little behind when Danish ex-world champion Mads Pedersen won. On flat stages, however, crash victims in the last three kilometers receive the winner’s time, allowing Laporte to lead the race by a second over his Belgian teammate Wout van Aert.
Sprinter teams counter attacks
The 190.8 kilometers from Vierzon to Dun-le-Palestel were characterized by many attacks in the hilly final phase. In the end, however, the sprint teams controlled the field and Pedersen won in a long sprint ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard and van Aert. The German team Bora-hansgrohe achieved eighth place thanks to Dutchman Danny van Poppel.
Time trial specialists are in demand on Wednesday. The 13.4 kilometer course leads from Domérat to Montlucon. From Thursday onwards the terrain will be significantly more demanding. The race ends on Sunday with a stage around Nice.
Source: dpa