At 212.5km, stage 3 of the Tour de France from Verviers to Longwy with an uphill finish to the citadal atop the Côte des Religieuses was not the longest of the race in distance, but with a block headwind for most of the day it made for a long day in the saddle.
It was predicted that the Classics specialists would shine on a twisting, hilly finale, and indeed they did - with world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) taking the win over Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), with Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) rounding out the top four.
Geraint Thomas (Sky) kept the race lead, although Stefan Küng (BMC) lost 35 seconds and dropped out of the white jersey and the top 10, putting defending champion Chris Froome into second at 12 seconds.
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