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Tour de France stage 3 - Live coverage

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Good morning and welcome to the Cyclingnews live race centre for stage 3 of the Tour de France. We've had an action-packed Grand Départ, with the rain-soaked chaos on Saturday and a breathless Julian Alaphilippe exhibition on Sunday, but it's time to leave Nice behind. Today's stage takes us 198km north west, to Sisteron. It's an undulating day in the saddle but a bunch sprint would seem to be the most likely outcome. 

The pre-stage podium ceremony is well underway, and it's CCC who are being presented to the abyss at the moment. The riders will roll out at 12:10 local time, with the race proper getting underway around 10 minutes after that.

Before we get going, why not catch up on yesterday's action? We have an in-depth write-up and photo gallery, plus all the results and standings at the link below. 

It certainly hasn't been the gentlest of introductions to a Tour de France, and while many expect a sprint at the end of the day, this is far from one of those flat opening-week processions. 

Recommended reading today is Barry Ryan's feature on Marc Hirschi. Everyone knows about Alaphilippe, everyone knew he was going to attack on that climb, and everyone knew he was going to win. What many people didn't know is Hirschi would be one of the two able to follow, and what many people don't know is much about the Swiss 22-year-old at all - including Adam Yates, going by his post-race interview. Anyway, Barry recently interviewed Hirschi at length and has the following story for us. 

The riders are gathering on the start line. Alaphilippe, of course, is in the yellow jersey. Stage 1 winner Alexander Kristoff, who handed it over yesterday, is now in green, while Hirschi is the best young rider in white and Benoit Cosnefroy is in the polka-dot jersey after another random attack took him to the top of the mountains classification yesterday. 

We're off! 

Christian Prudhomme rises through the sunroof and is about to wave us underway

The flag is waved and here come the attacks. Total Direct Energie and Cofidis on the move. 

Oliver Naesen jumps across. 

It looks like Naesen's trying to help out polka-dot jersey wearer Cosnefroy, his AG2R teammate. And now the peloton locks up. It's a four-rider breakaway. 

That's it. The break has formed in the first kilometre. Joining Cosnefroy and Naesen are Anthony Perez (Cofidis) and Jérôme Cousin (Total Direct Energie). Perez is second in the KOM standings, tied on points with Cosnefroy, so this looks like a battle for the polka-dots on the three cat-3 climbs we have on the menu. No one else looked keen, so the peloton seems accepting of a bunch sprint in Sisteron. 

Naesen sits up and drifts back to the bunch. He wasn't really interested in that small break and will save his legs for another day. It appeared his role was to simply make sure Cosnefroy didn't miss it - not that it was a hard break to make it into. 

189km to go

It's a good scenario for QuickStep. They haven't had to raise their heart rates so far in the first act of their defence of the maillot jaune, and with a break of just three riders, they shouldn't have to sweat too much in keeping this under to control to ensure a bunch sprint for their fast man Sam Bennett. 

Bennett was in a great position on the Promenade des Anglais on the opening day, but let another rider onto the wheel of his lead-out man and that disrupted his rhythm. The Irishman is such a talented rider but he doesn't half put pressure on himself, and every win feels like catharsis with him. 

More on Bennett and his sprint rivals from four-time green jersey winner Sean Kelly, who we spoke to at the weekend.  

Here was Alaphilippe at the stage start. Like last year, he's gone for black shorts and yellow bar tape.

This might be a relatively unthreatening break but Deceuninck-QuickStep aren't giving them much rope. The gap has stabilised at 2:25. 

The break pass through Vence, where a somewhat concerning number of fans are lining the roads. The COVID-19 headlines have made way for the opening-day drama and Alaphilippe's exploits, but this remains a precarious Tour. A reminder that two positive cases in one team bubble will see the whole team expelled from the race. Here's the latest on that situation

Yellow chain too for our race leader

It's Remi Cavagna leading the bunch for QuickStep as they take on a downhill section. Before long, the road will tilt uphill for the best part of 40km.

The gap is holding at 2:10 as Cosnefroy, Cousin, and Perez grind their way uphill. The first categorised climb is the Col du Pilon (8.4km at 5.1%) and it officially starts in just a few kilometres' time. 

This is Cosnefroy's third day on the attack at this year's Tour, out of three stages. The first was a somewhat doomed solo mission on the flat run-in to Nice, the second a mid-stage bridge to the break, which was slightly suprising given he might have chosen to wait and play his hand in the finale. Still, he ended up with the polka-dots. 

And here's a shot of Cosnefroy in the break a few moments ago. 

151km to go

Weather alert. It has started raining and the riders are calling for their capes. 

This won't be a welcome sight after the tribulations of the opening day, when the rain turned the roads into what pretty much every rider described as an ice rink. The reason seemed to be the fact it hadn't rained for so long, and the downpour brought all the oil from motor vehicles to the surface, meaning riders were hitting the deck descending at a snail's pace. Hopefully those rains will have cleaned the roads and we won't have the same kind of slippery surface skim here. 

The peloton moved to neutralise much of that opening stage, in what was a welcome piece of collective action in the absence of anything meaningful from the UCI or CPA. Here's one of the peloton's leading voices, Luke Rowe, on how it unfolded, including a bit of a telling off for Astana, who seemed to push on more than the others, resulting in their leader Miguel Angel Lopez careering into a road sign.

Showers were predicted but this is more than a shower. It's a downpour, with large raindrops slapping onto the tarmac. 

Lotto Soudal have sent a rider to the front on the climb. The gap is now 1:25 to the three leaders, who are 3km from the top.

2000 metres from the top of the Col du Pilon and the games between Cosnefroy and Perez begin. Cousin threatens with an acceleration but it's back together now. 

It's a long day in the saddle for a relatively slim potential haul. This climb and the other two cat-3 climbs offer 2 points for the first rider and 1 point for second. Coupled with the cat-4 climb later, there are a maximum of seven points on offer today. In the KOM standings, it's currently 18-18 between Cosnefroy and Perez.

Here we go. Into the final 500m of the climb. Cousin leads, Cosnefroy sticks religiously to Perez's wheel.

Perez opens up, Cosnefroy immediately springs into action!

Perez gets it. Cosnefroy struggles to get around and now goes behind in the virtual KOM standings. 

142km to go

After a short descent, we're climbing again. It's the Col de Faye, another cat-3 climb that averages 4.8% over 5.3km. 

We've got some pre-stage thoughts from the 2019 champion Egan Bernal. 

Here's how the scrap for the KOM points played out. 

The peloton had come back to 1:30 but the pace has been knocked off on this second climb. 2:15 as it stands. 

Into the final kilometre of the Col de la Faye and this time it's Cosnefroy on the front, switching up his tactics. 

Cosnefroy slows as he looks over his shoulder to keep tabs on Perez. Cousin's just minding his own business at the back. 

Cousin goes to the front to lift this snail's pace, and now the banner comes into view...

Perez goes for it and Cosnefroy has to respond again, but he can't...

A convincing win there for Perez, as Cosnefroy has to sit up in the final metres and watch Perez surge clear. On paper, you'd normally back Cosnefroy in an explosive uphill sprint but Perez is clearly the stronger of the two out there today and now has a two-point lead in the virtual KOM standings. 

132km to go

The road dips down now for a couple of kilometres but then it's back into an uphill drag for the best part of 15km, taking us to the highest point of the stage. From there, it's an undulating 30km to the third cat-3 climb of the day - the Col de Lègues. And from there it's mostly downhill to the finish.

The breakaway trio are looking at each other, soft-pedalling, seemingly wondering how much to commit to this. The gap is still slim at 2:05 and the peloton are taking it so easy behind. 

Cousin goes solo. A slightly bizarre set of circumstances sees Cosnefroy give his compatriot a push to help him launch up the road. Cousin clearly wants to make the most of this break but the other two couldn't muster the commitment he was after. 

So Cousin is ploughing a lone furrow on the road to Sisteron, where he has history...

Even less of a threat now for the peloton, who let the gap drift out to 3 minutes as Cosnefroy and Perez are welcomed back. This has turned into something of an active rest day, even if the undulating parcours and the rain will nevertheless contribute to the overall fatigue. 

To prove how chilled it's been. We're some 20 minutes behind even the slowest predicted time schedule. The average speed so far has been 32.7km/h.

120km to go

There are plenty of hills to come on this mid-part of the stage. The next classified climb is 35 kilometers away, however.

That's the Cat-3 Col les Lèques (6.9km at 5.4 per cent), while the Cat-4 Col de l'Orme (2.7km at 5 per cent) lies a further 35km away.

After the farcical opening stage of the Tour, which saw countless riders crash on slick roads in the pouring rain before a rider-organised neutralisation, a group of 30 riders have organised to take more control of their own safety.

111km to go

Cousin's lead has come down a little in recent kilometres. It's now 3:45.

It's down to 3:15 now. They're definitely speeding up behind. There's no real incentive to catch anytime soon though.

The rain is falling on the peloton again now. It's a miserable day out there.

We're seeing more châteaus than attacks today. It's a very quiet one.

100km to go

Cousin is carefully picking his way down this wet descent. He's 2:45 up on the peloton now.

Marc Hirschi introduces himself at Tour de France

Over on Eurosport, they're talking about their experiences of eating boar.

Over on ITV Chris Boardman is talking about the unexplored opportunities of hydraulic brake fluid. Take me back to the boar chat!

90km to go

Cousin begins the climb. It's 6.9km at 5.4%. 

The rain has eased and the sun is even poking out. 

Erm....

Today we have a story on Michal Kwiatkowski, with some interesting comments on the role of Richard Carapaz, the late addition to the Ineos Grenadiers roster. The absence of Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas seemed to leave Egan Bernal as the sole leader but Richard Carapaz could be a really dangerous option, potentially racing in a different way and giving Jumbo-Visma a real headache.

The peloton have knocked it off on this climb, not that it has ever really been 'on' today. Anyway, Cousin's lead stretches out to 3:50. 

80km to go

Ooh, a bit of action... The bunch comes to the top of the climb and Cosnefroy attacks, with an actual lead-out. Perez was on the wheel but had to unclip - not sure what happened there. Cosnefroy therefore grabs the one remaining KOM point.

In the KOM standings, Perez now leads with 22 points to Cosnefroy's 21. There's one point remaining on the Cat-4 Col de l'Orme a little later, but that should go to Cousin. 

Cosnefroy looks to be pushing on on this descent, with his teammate joining back up with him. He's 20 seconds ahead of the bunch now in a move that pretty much sums up his Tour so far. 

It's Nans Peters with Cosnefroy and they're 15 seconds ahead of the peloton at the moment. 

A couple of splits at the back of the bunch and NTT are scrambling around. Maybe Nizzolo was in trouble.

The peloton has lined out here. It's a gentle downhill now and the pace has definitely lifted. 

I know these tweets are coming from the QuickStep account, but they never cease to surprise me...

The peloton is back as one, and Nizzolo is at the back, now being dragged up again. 

We're hearing Anthony Perez has abandoned. That's a bit of a surprise, given he was in the break today and was heading into the polka-dot jersey. We saw him unclip and swing out when chasing Cosnefroy at that last KOM, so not sure if that had something to do with it. 

65km to go

Confirmation on Perez. He crashed on the descent of the Col des Lèques and has broken his collarbone. That's a huge huge shame for him and his Cofidis team, who were set for a day in the polka-dots tomorrow. 

Cofidis haven't won a Tour de France stage since Sylvain Chavanel all the way back in 2008. There'll be high hopes that will change this year, and possibly today, with Elia Viviani now in the ranks. 

Puncture for Sam Bennett. No panic for the Irish champion as he munches away on some food while a mechanic fumbles with the thru-axle. He's back on his way and won't have any trouble getting back to a peloton that's still going steady with 60km to go. 

More info on Perez's crash. 

Still it's Deceuninck-QuickStep on the front of the bunch, although controlling this break hasn't really required any input from anyone else. Can they make it two in a row? Bennett is one of the big favourites here, but will face competition from the likes of Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis). After the tough opening two days, and the elevation gain we've had today (albeit on a slow slow day), there could be room for the less pure sprinters to have a say, so expect to see the likes of stage 1 winner Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), the ever-present Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Cees Bol (Sunweb) in the mix. 

Puncture for Nizzolo's who has had a few problems today. He'll be back without any real worries.

50km to go

Cousin hits the Col de l'Orme, which is 2.7km at 5%.

Over the top of the Col de l'Orme, Cousin has a lead of 1:45. 

Cousin is exploiting his full aero tuck as he heads down towards the intermediate sprint, where we should see some action in the peloton from the green jersey hopefuls. 

Here's how things stand in the points classification

Cousin crosses the intermediate sprint line but the points won't mean much to him. They will, however, to the fast men in the bunch behind, where the pace is now really starting to increase on the approach. The gap is down to a minute

NTT take it up!

Sagan comes through to take it after a lead-out from Oss. Bonifazio was second, with Bennett and Kristoff also up there. 

Cousin has his forearms on his bars and his left hand draped over his right. Head down, mullet sticking up, he's squeezing every last ounce out of this solo breakaway. 50 seconds is his gap with 33km to go. 

Here's Perez after his crash. A horrible way for his day and Tour to end. 

Here are the results from the intermediate sprint

Want to watch the finale of this stage (as well as looking at me writing about it)? Here's the low-down on how you can do that. 

Still QuickStep on the front as Declercq takes the bunch under the 25km to go banner. I don't think any other team has done a single turn turn today. It's still calm but it won't be long before things start heating up and teams begin the scramble to get their lead-outs organised and into position. 

24km to go.

It's a headwind on the finishing straight, and a stiff one at that. Timing is going to be crucial here. No one will want to be hitting the wind any further than 200m out. 

20km

Ineos now set up on the left-hand side of the road. They're simply looking to keep Egan Bernal out of trouble up until the safety net of the 3km-to-go banner. 

Cousin puts his hands into the drops and springs out of the saddle on a false flat. A courageous ride from the Frenchman today. 

16.3km to go

But now we forget about the Frenchman and turn our attention to the sprint finish. Teams are starting to get organised now the catch has been made. 

Bahrain McLaren are prominent here, with Landa to protect on GC and Colbrelli to tee up for the sprint. NTT have set up for Nizzolo on the right, with Cofidis and Ineos on the left. 

Prediction o'clock

In my pre-race predictions I backed Bennett to be the most successful sprinter at this Tour, so I'm going to pick him today. He has the best lead-out, especially now Ewan has lost Degenkolb and Gilbert. The issue is that question of pressure, and I can't decide if there'll be more or less of it after his teammate Alaphilippe won yesterday. 

Towards the 10-to-go banner we go and now the pace really lifts. NTT are still on the right as QuickStep lose Declercq and go with Jungels. 

10km to go

Here's a preview of the final 5km

Groupama-FDJ have moved up on the right with 7.5km to go. No Demare here, who's cleaning up everywhere else, but they're trying to look after Pinot, who crashed just inside the 3km banner on the opening day. 

A traffic island and a big roundabout combine to split the bunch up.

Crash. Cosnefroy is down after riding into the back of an Ineos rider. There was another crash a little further up, too. 

Dayer Quintana went down, as did a Jumbo rider, but who?

It was Van Aert, who's back on his bike but won't be sprinting for the win today.

5km to go

CCC look keen and take it up now. They have Trentin and Van Avermaet. 

We're grinding up a false flat again and CCC have two riders on the front. Sunweb move up on the left now. They're working for Cees Bol

Ineos hit the front now. It's Rowe with Bernal on the wheel. 

Ineos won't be going anywhere near this sprint but Rowe is taking the 2019 champion to the 3km to go banner, where GC times are neutralised in the event of a crash. 

3km to go

Mitchelton-Scott now try to take it up on the right. Lotto Soudal are there behind them - first time we've seen them today. 

Asgreen and Juul-Jensen jostle for position into the roundabout with 2km to go. 

And now Lotto Soudal hit the front. Kluge and De Buyst are with Ewan. 

No big lead-out trains here. This could be a scrappy one. 1.5km to go!

UAE take it up on the right but Sunweb have it on the left. Lotto are down the middle with NTT tucked in behind. 

Final km! Sunweb take it up!

Big three-man lead-out for Sunweb

Oss comes through for Sagan

Sagan hits the front!

But now Bennett comes through.... and now Ewan!!

Ewan takes it!

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) wins stage 3 of the Tour de France

Wow. What a sprint. Bennett and Nizzolo went either side of Sagan as they opened up and Ewan was still a fair way back at that point, but he weaved his way through at incredible speed, overhauling Bennett in the last 25 metres. 

We spoke about the headwind and the need to leave it late. Sagan went far too early and faded. Ewan, who's especially good in a headwind given his super low profile, came from really far back and nipped right around Sagan then left around Bennett, all in the final 50 metres. Amazing. 

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Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 5:17:42
2Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-Quickstep
3Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
4Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation
5Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
6Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
7Cees Bol (Ned) Team Sunweb
8Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
9Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
10Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Total Direct Energie
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