As it happened: Breakaway survives to win Critérium du Dauphiné stage 3

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 3 of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné!

The race is set to kick off at 11:00 CET today, so we're around 20 minutes away.

The flag will drop 15 minutes later to signal the real stage start.

Here's a look back at yesterday's sprint stage...

Critérium du Dauphiné: Jonathan Milan takes decisive stage 2 sprint win

Fred Wright takes second place ahead of Mathieu van der Poel

A look back at stage 2's results...

The riders are away for the 5.8km neutral start.

207km to go

Attacks from the very start as the flag drops in Brioude.

The riders are already approaching the day's first climb, the fourth-category Côte de Cornille (4.1km at 4.8%).

198km to go

The peloton are on the climb now.

Ineos Grenadiers and Alpecin-Deceuninck are leading the way at the front.

Over the top and the next climb follows in quick succession.

The Côte de la Barbate (5.8km at 6.8%) is up next.

An attack at the front by Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) and Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) now.

Sprinters are being dropped from the peloton on the way up the climb, including stage 2 winner Milan.

Mathieu van der Poel among the latest attackers but it's Van Gils who leads.

190km to go

Van Gils and Van der Poel are caught by the peloton before the top.

Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty) attacks just past the summit and Van der Poel reacts.

176km to go

Remco Evenepoel attacks!

He joined Barré at the front and finished second behind the Frenchman at the day's only intermediate sprint to take two bonus seconds.

Tadej Pogačar was third to take one bonus second.

More attacks fly at the front after the sprint, though no GC men are involved.

171km to go

Van der Poel is up there again.

Florian Lipowitz, Max Schachmann, Eddie Dunbar are among the other notable names out front.

It looks like this is the break of the day.

The peloton has let the move take a minute.

163km to go

Barré, Lipowitz, Schachmann, Van der Poel, and Dunbar are in the move.

So too are Axel Laurance, Michael Leonard, Julien Bernard, Harold Tejada, Ivan Romeo, Andreas Leknessund, Brieuc Rolland, Krists Neilands, and Anthony Turgis

1:15 for the break now.

154km to go

Largely flat ground for the moment. 

A group containing Ben Healy, Magnus Sheffield, Jonathan Milan, Guillaume Martin, Pascal Ackermann and others is currently two minutes behind the peloton.

Up to 2:10 for the breakaway group now

The 13-man group have just taken on the third climb of the day, the Côte de Malataverne.

125km to go

The Milan group is now back with the peloton after a slowing in the pace.

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Soudal-QuickStep and UAE Team Emirates-XRG are leading at the front of the peloton.

No more hills on the stage for the next 40km or so.

115km to go

Milan is dropped from the peloton once again.

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Here's a look at the breakaway out on the road today.

Oliver Knight (Cofidis) has abandoned.

100km to go

Past the halfway mark of the day now.

The peloton remains at two minutes down on the 13-man break.

Milan is back in the peloton after dropping again, meanwhile.

Milan at the rear of the peloton.

Around 15km to go until the Col du Tracol (2.9km at 3.9%).

88km to go

1:45 between break and peloton.

The break has now started the penultimate climb of the day, the Col du Tracol.

Milan is once again dropped from the peloton.

The break have now crested the climb and are on the long descent.

Consonni, Ghrebreigzabhier, Theuns have dropped back to work for Milan.

Barré led the break over the climb.

72km to go

1:35 back to the peloton now.

Milan's group is now back in the peloton again.

13 riders continue out front.

61km to go

Still descending and 1:30 between break and peloton.

Another look at the break of the day.

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Tadej Pogačar remains top of the pile, as he faces Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel at the Dauphiné

Only the Côte du Château Jaune remains on today's stage.

50km to go

The riders are almost at the end of the long descent.

1:43 between break and peloton now.

Today's final climb is 1.2km at 9.5%.

41km to go

1:43 between break and peloton.

The riders are on flat ground now.

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The peloton is speeding up now. 1:20 to the break.

No change in the men out front. Still 13 riders.

UAE, Visma, and EF are working at the front.

25km to go

Around 10km to go until the break hits the final climb.

A minute for the breakaway now.

Milan is getting pulled towards the front of the peloton ahead of the climb.

The break hits the climb and riders drop out the back. Leonard and Turgis first.

47 seconds between the break and peloton on the way up.

Bernard, Tejada, and Romeo attack at the front.

Meanwhile, Milan drops from the peloton on the way up.

Lipowitz goes at the front, too.

Lipowitz is with Bernard and Tejada.

18km to go

55 seconds for the three leaders, who have 10 seconds on the rest of the break.

Milan is 40 seconds off the rear of the peloton.

The peloton has dropped to 1:05 behind the break.

Leknessund has gone across to Lipowitz, Tejada, and Bernard.

13km to go

Van Gils stops in the peloton with a mechanical.

Tejada attacks at the front as Van der Poel and Barre come across.

Tejada is joined by Lipowitz, Bernard, Van der Poel, Leknessund, Barre.

1:18 back to the peloton.

Laurance, Romeo, Rolland, Dunbar are chasing.

The chase group catches the breakaway leaders to make it 10 out front.

10km to go

Van der Poel attacks but can't get anywhere.

Romeo tries a move but it brought back.

1:15 back to the peloton.

6km to go

Romeo attacks at the front again.

The Spaniard has a small gap.

No immediate reaction from behind.

4km to go

Romeo has 15 seconds.

1:20 back to the peloton.

Van der Poel is pulling in the chase.

Laurance tries a move now.

2km to go

Bernard chases.

The chase comes back together, 17 seconds down on Romeo.

Romeo riding to the stage win and overall lead.

1km to go

Van der Poel to the front of the group now but it's almost all over.

Lipowitz ups the pace in the chase.

Lipowitz takes Tejada and Barre with him.

Romeo heading to the final 500 metres now.

Finish

Iván Romeo (Movistar) wins stage 3!

Tejada leads Barre and Lipowitz home at 14 seconds down.

Van der Poel leads the remainder of the break home at 27 seconds.

The peloton crosses the line at 1:08 down.

Romeo celebrates his win.

That's the second pro win for 21-year-old Romeo, who is the reignin U23 world time trial champion.

Romeo is the first Spaniard to lead the race since Alberto Contador in 2016.

Here's what Romeo said after his win.

"I don't believe it. I don't know what to say, honestly, I think it was one of the toughest days of my life so far.

"The breakaway, it was so hard to get into it, and I wasn't feeling really good. I had to tell the car I needed to take the risk and not be very active, so I waited to the last moment. I know in this kind of flat final in a small break, I have good instinct and that if they give me some seconds, I can make it.

"I knew the final. I had this stage on my mind for one month. We've been doing altitude at Sierra Nevada, working super hard with all the team, and they gave me this chance at the beginning of the week, so to be able to pull it off like this."

Critérium du Dauphiné: Iván Romeo solos to victory from breakaway on stage 3

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Romeo now leads the GC by 17 seconds from Barre.

Lipowitz is up to fourth overall at 24 seconds down. He gained a chunk of time on the other main GC contenders today and now lies 42 seconds up on Tadej Pogačar.

Romeo is in the yellow jersey and white jersey as best young rider overnight.

Van der Poel continues in the green points jersey.

Paul Ourselin continues as the mountain classification leader.

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Look out for more news to come throughout the remainder of the evening!