Caleb Ewan produced a dazzling sprint finish to win stage three of the Tour de France as Julian Alaphilippe held on to the yellow jersey.
The Australian Lotto Soudal rider timed his sprint to perfection to squeeze past Peter Sagan and snatch victory from Irishman Sam Bennett.
Frenchman Jerome Cousin had led by nearly three minutes before being swept up by the peloton with 16km to go.
“The guys did a great job keeping me at the front,” said Ewan.
“I was a bit too far forward in the final kilometre so I dropped back and gave myself a bit of a rest.
“Coming from behind is a bit of a risk but I got through past the barrier and had the speed in the end.
“This is the biggest race in the world and I’m so happy to get another win and prove last year wasn’t a fluke. I hope to keep coming back and keep winning.”
Stage three result
1. Caleb Ewan (Aus/Lotto Soudal) 5hrs 17mins 42secs
2. Sam Bennett (Ire/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) same time
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita/NTT Pro)
4. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra/Israel Start-up Nation)
5. Peter Sagan (Svk/Bora-Hansgrohe)
6. Edward Theuns (Bel/Trek-Segafredo)
7. Cees Bol (Ned/Team Sunweb)
8. Matteo Trentin (Ita/CCC Team)
9. Bryan Coquard (Fra/B&B Hotels – Vital Concept)
10. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita/Total Direct Energie)
General classification after stage three
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 13hrs 59mins 17secs
2. Adam Yates (GB/Mitchelton-Scott) +4secs
3. Marc Hirschi (Swi/Team Sunweb) +7secs
4. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +17secs
5. Davide Formolo (Ita/UAE Team Emirates) Same time
6. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers)
7. Tom Dumoulin (Ned/Jumbo-Visma)
8. Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Pro Cycling)
9. Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis)
10. Esteban Chaves (Col/Mitchelton-Scott)
More to follow.
