Chavanel wins third stage of 4 Jours de Dunkerque

Sylvain Chavanel recorded his first win for IAM Cycling on stage three of the 4 Jours de Dunkerqu in a two-man sprint against Michaël Andersen (Tinkoff-Saxo). On the longest stage of the race, Chavanel escaped on the final climb up the Cap Blanc-Nez with Andersen as the duo built a small lead on the chasing peloton. Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r-La Mondiale) won the sprint for third place, 12 seconds in arrears. Arnaud Demaré (FDJ.fr) retains his race lead with one stage left to race.

"I suffered to get this victory on the most difficult stage of the week," said Chavanel. "From the start the conditions were hellish with the wind, pavé, small roads, rain and cold. But this is the racing I like. I am happy with my sprint even though I launched it from quite a ways out against the young rider who worked so well with me. We came here to win a stage in Dunkirk. We've done that, so now it's time to look to the general classification."

Chavanel is now just seconds behind Demaré on the general classification.

For directeur sportif Eddy Seigneurat Chavanel's win capped off a day of hard work by the team.

"I am very happy for him, but also proud of the team that showed such impressive collective strength," Seigneurat said. "While we are not automatically always so well oiled, today when placing Sylvain on his launching pad, we were perfect. Then with his amazingly strong legs, and with the contribution from Michaël Andersen, he managed to outpace the pursuers. And there is nothing wrong with being 2nd overall when talking about the hardest stage of the week where there are no fewer than 15 climbs listed."

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