Pays de la Loire Tour: Alexander Kamp sprints to first victory for three years on stage 3, moves into race lead
Dane beats Antoine L'Hote and Gabriele Bessega to the line in Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes from small group
Alexander Kamp (Uno-X Mobility) sped to victory on stage 3 of the Pays de la Loire Tour, outpowering a breakaway of six on the fast uphill finish.
Gabriele Bessega (Polti VisitMalta) finished second, whilst Antoine L'Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM), the instigator of the late breakaway, settled for third.
It was a hilly, punchy finish set on laps around Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes, which made for an attacking finale, and a reduced group battled for the win after forming in the final 5km.
Race leader and winner of the first two stages, Ethan Vernon (NSN) was dropped on the tough final lap and ceded the leader's jersey.
Kamp now leads the GC by two seconds over Bessega and four over L'Hote, with only 14 seconds separating the top 10 with another punchy day to come to close the race on Friday.
The third stage of the Pays de la Loire Tour rolled out from Avrillé for 199km of racing, with some small climbs and a kick up to the line.
Early on, a breakaway of six riders got away: Ellande Larronde (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Maël Guégan, Similien Hamon (both CIC Pro Cycling Academy), Baptiste Gillet (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur), Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) and Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel Roubaix). They quickly built a lead of four minutes and stayed comfortably out front for the first 100km.
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Going into the second 100km, the pace in the peloton started building, and therefore the gap began to shrink, and the front group started to splinter. Despite a bridge from two strong riders from the peloton, including Tom Donnenwirth (Groupama-FDJ United), the leaders were reeled back in with 40km to go.
The catch gave way for another nine-rider group to counterattack, led again by Donnenwirth and some strong companions, but they weren't away for long either.
On the final lap, Corbin Strong (NSN) went for the bonus seconds, which strung out the peloton and saw riders like double stage winner and race leader Ethan Vernon get dropped. Antoine L'Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM) took the chance to attack and built a lead of 20 seconds with 11km to go, chased by a smaller group and the reduced peloton.
The chasers caught L'Hote with 5km to go, making it a group of six into the finale. On the final rise to the line, the peloton had them within view, but couldn't quite make the catch. Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) led out the sprint, but probably started too early, as Kamp came from third wheel to fly to the win, whilst Sorarrain and Thomas missed out on the top three.
The race concludes on Friday with a final medium hilly stage between Brûlon and Le Mans.
Stage 3 Results
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Alexander Kamp (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
4:37:03 |
2 |
Gabriele Bessega (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:37:03 |
3 |
Antoine L'Hote (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
4:37:03 |
4 |
Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis |
4:37:03 |
5 |
Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:37:03 |
6 |
Killian Theot (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:37:03 |
7 |
Corbin John Strong (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
4:37:09 |
8 |
Ewen Costiou (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
4:37:09 |
9 |
David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:37:09 |
10 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:37:09 |
11 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:37:09 |
12 |
Joppe Heremans (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:37:09 |
13 |
Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:37:09 |
14 |
Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:37:09 |
15 |
Louis Hardouin (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:37:09 |
16 |
Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis |
4:37:09 |
17 |
Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:37:09 |
18 |
Adrien Maire (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:37:09 |
19 |
Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
4:37:09 |
20 |
Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:37:09 |
21 |
Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:37:09 |
22 |
Mathis le Berre (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:37:09 |
23 |
Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
4:37:09 |
24 |
Lucas Beneteau (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:37:09 |
25 |
Léandre Lozouet (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:37:09 |
26 |
Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:37:09 |
27 |
Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:37:09 |
28 |
Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:37:09 |
29 |
Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
4:37:09 |
30 |
Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:37:09 |
31 |
Valentin Ferron (Fra) Cofidis |
4:37:09 |
32 |
Sam Maisonobe (Fra) Cofidis |
4:37:09 |
33 |
Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:37:09 |
34 |
Killian Verschuren (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:37:09 |
35 |
Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
4:37:09 |
36 |
Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:37:09 |
37 |
Tom Mainguenaud (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:37:09 |
38 |
Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
4:37:09 |
39 |
Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:37:09 |
40 |
Lorenzo Conforti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:37:09 |
41 |
Joris Chaussinand (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:37:09 |
42 |
Alastair Mackellar (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost |
4:37:20 |
43 |
Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:37:22 |
44 |
Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:37:26 |
45 |
Milan van den Haute (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:37:31 |
46 |
Milan Vader (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:37:38 |
47 |
Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:38:20 |
48 |
Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
4:38:27 |
49 |
Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
4:38:35 |
50 |
Walter Calzoni (Ita) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:38:35 |
51 |
Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
4:38:35 |
52 |
Tobias Svarre (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
4:38:35 |
53 |
Mathias Sanlaville (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:38:35 |
54 |
David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk |
4:38:35 |
55 |
Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
4:38:35 |
56 |
Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
4:38:35 |
57 |
Clément Davy (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:38:35 |
58 |
Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
4:38:35 |
59 |
Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM |
4:38:35 |
60 |
Pierre Gautherat (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
4:38:35 |
61 |
Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:38:35 |
62 |
Simon Guglielmi (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:38:35 |
63 |
Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:38:35 |
64 |
Léandre Huck (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:38:58 |
65 |
Quinten Hermans (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:39:04 |
66 |
Miguel Marin Martinez (Col) Ef Education - Aevolo |
4:39:26 |
67 |
Nate Pringle (NZl) Decathlon Cma Cgm Development Team |
4:42:47 |
68 |
Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk |
4:42:47 |
69 |
Javier Ibañez Beltran de Salazar (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:43:13 |
70 |
Kévin Avoine (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:43:41 |
71 |
Marco Manenti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:44:24 |
72 |
Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
4:44:24 |
73 |
Andrea Peron (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
4:44:24 |
74 |
Baptiste Gillet (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:44:24 |
75 |
Victor Guernalec (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:44:24 |
76 |
Alexander Konijn (Ned) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:44:24 |
77 |
Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
4:44:24 |
78 |
Morné van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:44:24 |
79 |
Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:44:24 |
80 |
Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Cofidis |
4:44:24 |
81 |
Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:44:24 |
82 |
Louis Rouland (Fra) Cofidis |
4:44:24 |
83 |
Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:45:12 |
84 |
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) NSN Cycling Team |
4:46:14 |
85 |
Nicholas Schultz (Aus) NSN Cycling Team |
4:47:27 |
86 |
Maël Guegan (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:47:45 |
87 |
Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
4:48:27 |
88 |
Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:48:36 |
89 |
Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies |
4:48:55 |
90 |
Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:49:04 |
91 |
Robbe Ghys (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM |
4:49:07 |
92 |
Laurens Huys (Bel) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:50:07 |
93 |
Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
4:50:27 |
94 |
Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
4:50:27 |
95 |
Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk |
4:50:27 |
96 |
Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta |
4:50:27 |
97 |
Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:50:27 |
98 |
Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
4:50:27 |
99 |
Santiago Ferraro (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
4:50:27 |
100 |
Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
4:50:27 |
101 |
Dylan Massa (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
4:50:27 |
102 |
Joes Oosterlinck (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
4:50:27 |
103 |
Similien Hamon (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
4:50:27 |
104 |
Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
4:50:43 |
105 |
Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
4:50:43 |
106 |
Jake Stewart (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
4:51:05 |
DNF |
Lewis Bower (NZl) Groupama-FDJ United |
Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF |
Yago Aguirre Subijana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 107 - Cell 2 |
OTL |
Colin Savioz (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
4:57:12 |
DNS |
Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 109 - Cell 2 |
General classification after stage 3
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Alexander Kamp (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
11:57:21 |
2 |
Gabriele Bessega (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
11:57:23 |
3 |
Antoine L'Hote (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
11:57:25 |
4 |
Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
11:57:30 |
5 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
11:57:32 |
6 |
Killian Theot (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
11:57:32 |
7 |
Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
11:57:32 |
8 |
Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis |
11:57:32 |
9 |
Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
11:57:32 |
10 |
Corbin John Strong (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
11:57:35 |
11 |
Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis |
11:57:36 |
12 |
Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Totalenergies |
11:57:37 |
13 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
11:57:38 |
14 |
Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
11:57:38 |
15 |
Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
11:57:38 |
16 |
Joppe Heremans (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
11:57:38 |
17 |
Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
11:57:38 |
18 |
Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
11:57:38 |
19 |
Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
11:57:38 |
20 |
Mathis le Berre (Fra) Totalenergies |
11:57:38 |
21 |
Louis Hardouin (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
11:57:38 |
22 |
Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
11:57:38 |
23 |
Ewen Costiou (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
11:57:38 |
24 |
Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
11:57:38 |
25 |
Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
11:57:38 |
26 |
Léandre Lozouet (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
11:57:38 |
27 |
Lorenzo Conforti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
11:57:38 |
28 |
Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
11:57:38 |
29 |
Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
11:57:38 |
30 |
Valentin Ferron (Fra) Cofidis |
11:57:38 |
31 |
Tom Mainguenaud (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
11:57:38 |
32 |
David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
11:57:38 |
33 |
Lucas Beneteau (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
11:57:38 |
34 |
Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
11:57:38 |
35 |
Killian Verschuren (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
11:57:38 |
36 |
Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
11:57:38 |
37 |
Joris Chaussinand (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
11:57:38 |
38 |
Sam Maisonobe (Fra) Cofidis |
11:57:38 |
39 |
Adrien Maire (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
11:57:38 |
40 |
Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
11:57:38 |
41 |
Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
11:57:38 |
42 |
Alastair Mackellar (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost |
11:57:49 |
43 |
Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
11:57:51 |
44 |
Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
11:57:55 |
45 |
Milan van den Haute (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
11:58:00 |
46 |
Milan Vader (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
11:58:07 |
47 |
Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
11:58:44 |
48 |
Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
11:58:49 |
49 |
Simon Guglielmi (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
11:58:57 |
50 |
Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
11:59:00 |
51 |
Mathias Sanlaville (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
11:59:04 |
52 |
Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM |
11:59:04 |
53 |
Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
11:59:04 |
54 |
Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
11:59:04 |
55 |
Pierre Gautherat (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
11:59:04 |
56 |
Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
11:59:04 |
57 |
Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
11:59:04 |
58 |
Clément Davy (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
11:59:04 |
59 |
Walter Calzoni (Ita) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
11:59:04 |
60 |
David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk |
11:59:04 |
61 |
Tobias Svarre (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
11:59:04 |
62 |
Quinten Hermans (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
11:59:33 |
63 |
Léandre Huck (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
11:59:58 |
64 |
Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
12:02:09 |
65 |
Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk |
12:03:16 |
66 |
Miguel Marin Martinez (Col) Ef Education - Aevolo |
12:03:40 |
67 |
Kévin Avoine (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
12:04:03 |
68 |
Nate Pringle (NZl) Decathlon Cma Cgm Development Team |
12:04:27 |
69 |
Alexander Konijn (Ned) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
12:04:53 |
70 |
Marco Manenti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
12:04:53 |
71 |
Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
12:04:53 |
72 |
Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
12:04:53 |
73 |
Victor Guernalec (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
12:04:53 |
74 |
Morné van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
12:04:53 |
75 |
Andrea Peron (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
12:04:53 |
76 |
Baptiste Gillet (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
12:04:53 |
77 |
Louis Rouland (Fra) Cofidis |
12:04:53 |
78 |
Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies |
12:05:14 |
79 |
Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies |
12:06:23 |
80 |
Nicholas Schultz (Aus) NSN Cycling Team |
12:07:56 |
81 |
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) NSN Cycling Team |
12:08:48 |
82 |
Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
12:08:56 |
83 |
Maël Guegan (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
12:09:02 |
84 |
Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Cofidis |
12:09:21 |
85 |
Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies |
12:09:24 |
86 |
Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
12:09:29 |
87 |
Laurens Huys (Bel) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
12:10:36 |
88 |
Santiago Ferraro (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
12:10:55 |
89 |
Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta |
12:10:56 |
90 |
Joes Oosterlinck (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
12:10:56 |
91 |
Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber |
12:10:56 |
92 |
Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
12:11:00 |
93 |
Similien Hamon (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy |
12:11:46 |
94 |
Jake Stewart (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
12:12:22 |
95 |
Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
12:12:25 |
96 |
Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Totalenergies |
12:13:09 |
97 |
Javier Ibañez Beltran de Salazar (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
12:13:42 |
98 |
Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
12:14:23 |
99 |
Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 |
12:16:15 |
100 |
Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
12:16:15 |
101 |
Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
12:16:15 |
102 |
Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
12:16:41 |
103 |
Robbe Ghys (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM |
12:16:59 |
104 |
Dylan Massa (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur |
12:18:56 |
105 |
Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk |
12:20:27 |
106 |
Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
12:22:28 |
Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported on the ground at all of the biggest events on the calendar, including the men's and women's Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, the Spring Classics and the World Championships. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.
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