Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) doubled up at the Volta a Catalunya, sprinting to victory in Vila-seca at the end of a dramatic third stage.
The Frenchman led the race home after a late catch of a late GC breakaway starring Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). Evenepoel had attacked following the final descent of the day with 29km to go, taking Vingegaard with him.
Evenepoel pushed on at the front, with the pair enjoying a lead of 30 seconds at one point, but he enjoyed little collaboration from Vingegaard, getting visibly annoyed with his companion at several points during the run-in.
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The pair held a 17-second advantage as they raced into the final 10km and still lay several seconds up the road heading under the flamme rouge.
They looked to have just about held off the peloton to contest the finish among themselves. However, Evenepoel dramatically fell on the approach to a roundabout with 500 metres to go, ending his chances of glory.
Vingegaard was caught shortly afterwards, apparently not wanting to push on alone following Evenepoel's crash.
Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard went on the attack at the front of the race with 29km to go (Image credit: Getty Images)
"It looked really crazy, but I hope he is OK, and obviously I didn't want to take advantage of a situation like that. I just decided to wait for the bunch," Vingegaard said after the stage.
"I hope he can continue tomorrow."
Vingegaard's gesture left Godon to launch the sprint and easily dispatch his rivals for his third win of the season. The stage 1 winner beat Ethan Vernon (NSN) and Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost) to the line to extend his overall lead.
Godon now leads the race by 11 seconds from Evenepoel, who picked up three bonus seconds at the day's second and final intermediate sprint. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) lies third overall at 16 seconds, while Vingegaard is fourth at 18 seconds.
"I was fully concentrated on the sprint. For me, we caught them, and then I went for the win," Godon said after the stage, referring to Evenepoel and Vingegaard.
"All the riders on the team did an amazing job for me to catch them, so it was amazing.
"First, I wanted to win today again. It's an amazing day again, the third day as the GC leader. It's not every day, so let's go [forward] with a smile."
How it unfolded
Stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya would take the peloton on the hilliest ride yet, with three classified climbs and 2,300 metres of elevation lying between the start in Mont-roig del Camp on the Costa Daurada and the nearby finish in Vila-seca.
The 159.4km route brought early ascents of the Alt de la Mussara (10.3km at 6%) and the Coll de Capafons (4km at 4.7%) before the Coll Roig (5.7km at 4.4%) at 45km to go. The final 30km, however, would be run on flat ground with a sprint finish again likely.
It wouldn't take long for a breakaway to go clear after the flag dropped to start the stage. Once again, Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché) was in the move, with the Frenchman setting out to add to his points and mountain classification leads.
He was joined, for the second day in a row, by Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma) as well as Lotto teammate Reuben Thompson. Yago Aguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Josh Burnett (Burgos-Burpellet-BH), and Mark Stewart (Modern Adventure) completed the six-man move.
The early breakaway on stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya (Image credit: Getty Images)
The sextet raced out to a four-minute lead as Ineos Grenadiers led the peloton behind, though their advantage slimmed to two minutes after a fast start.
Veistroffer predictably led the way up to the Alt de la Mussara, adding 10 points to his king of the mountains tally. He'd take five more on the Coll de Capafons to take his total to 31 points, 16 clear of the new second-place rider, Burnett.
Another push at the day's first intermediate sprint at Cornudella de Montsant on the long descent off the Capafons saw him add three more points to his points lead. Behind, the peloton was closing in, approaching the minute mark as the riders swept into the final 100km.
A crash at 70km to go saw several riders in the peloton hit the deck, with Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) abandoning the race as a result. Up ahead, the break continued with a minute's lead.
Jay Vine abandons after crashing on stage 3 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Visma-Lease a Bike joined in the pacemaking at the head of the peloton on the road up the Coll Roig, while, once again, Veistroffer led the break over the top. He added a further three points to his total, ending the day with 34 to lead Burnett by 17.
On the way down, the peloton chased at 30 seconds down, and by the time they ended the descent, 30km from the line, they had brought the breakaway back for good.
Shortly afterwards, the peloton split in crosswinds as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Visma-Lease a Bike led the way. Remco Evenepoel pushed hard and went clear in an unexpected GC move with 29km to go.
He was joined by Jonas Vingegaard, who managed to bridge across the initial gap. Meanwhile, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was among the riders caught out in the split, falling behind before eventually making it back to the chase group.
Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard attack in crosswind section on stage 3 (Image credit: Getty Images)
At 20km to go, the leading duo held a 23-second lead, while behind, a reconvened peloton continued its pursuit. Evenepoel led Vingegaard over the intermediate sprint at Reus, 15km from the line, as the pair grabbed three and two bonus seconds respectively.
A mixture of teams were contributing to the chase, but at 10km to run, Evenepoel and Vingegaard still held a 17-second advantage. By that point, the Dane had long stopped collaborating at the front, having briefly done so before following protestations from Evenepoel.
Still, Evenepoel continued to power on at the front with Vingegaard on his wheel and an ever-diminishing gap. They managed to lead the way into the final kilometre of the day, but they wouldn't last much longer.
As they approached the final roundabout ahead of the finishing straight, Evenepoel went down, ending his chances of victory. Vingegaard slowed in response, apparently not wanting to win thanks to his rival's crash. His gesture left Godon to lead home the peloton and win once more.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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