Griffin Easter wins stage 3b at Tour de Beauce

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Griffin Easter (303 Project) claimed victory on stage 3b of the Tour de Beauce after he out-sprinted breakaway companion Jonathan Brown (Hagens Berman Axeon). The 78-kilometre road race that took the riders in a big loop south and east of Saint-Georges before finishing with a steep 1.2 kilometre climb in Notre-Dame-des-Pins, north of Saint-Georges.

Despite constant attacks, race leader Serghei Tvetcov's UnitedHealthcare squad kept a tight rein on the bunch, finally allowing two riders to break clear with 30 kilometres to go.  Easter and Brown quickly opened a two-minute gap as the field sat up slightly behind them.

With 15 kilometres to go, the chase began again, and the pair eventually crossed the finish line only six seconds in front of Rui Oliveria (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Gavin Mannion, who was pacing team leader Tvetcov, who padded his lead in the overall standings.

The final three kilometres were marred by a bridge under construction, tight and narrow roads leading into the final climb, and 'road furniture' on the course that was not marked.

Adam Roberge (Silber) limited his losses by finishing seventh and is 20 seconds back of Tvetcov. Jack Burke (Jelly Belly) was one of a number of riders who went down hard in crashes, but after officials revised the results remains third on GC at twenty-two seconds back, with Rob Britton (Rally) fourth, at thirty-six seconds. Tvetcov took the Points Jersey from Colin Joyce (Rally).

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