Rolling and hilly terrain played host to stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné with a hill-top finish at Les Estables on the menu after a 181 kilometre route. It was a probing start to the day with quite a few attacks before eventually a break went clear and things settled down. All within the peloton, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL looked to stay safe throughout the afternoon ahead of the interesting finale; which could favour multiple types of riders.
Some strong teamwork saw Warren Barguil and Niklas Märkl well positioned going into the bottom of the final four kilometre drag to the line which averaged just under five percent in gradient. The Team dsm-firmenich PostNL duo fought well at the front as they headed under the flamme rouge, while others were dropping behind. At that moment, the attacks started in the peloton and the pace ramped up one notch more and unfortunately Märkl had to let go of the group within the last 500 metres. On the drag all the way to the finish, Barguil followed home safely in the bunch once more alongside the other climbers.
Speaking after the stage Märkl said: “It was another tough stage today. We were aiming to try and jump in the breakaway and I was in the first move which was pretty hard but immediately you could see that the group wouldn’t go to the finish line because the GC guys were also pretty active in the attacks. A few guys then went clear and Uno-X started to set a pace. You had to put the power on the pedals all throughout the stage, there wasn’t really a moment that you could get off the pedals and cruise a bit. The last 60 kilometres were mostly uphill and pretty hard. We tried to keep Warren safe in the bunch and a good position. Then it was basically a descent and a final climb to the line. I was still there and feeling good, and wanted to give it a try. I made it to the flamme rouge but there the attacks started and the pace went up again and I couldn’t follow anymore. No result for us today but I have to say that the shape is good and I feel more and more comfortable on this type of terrain and on these finishes. We’ll try to pick our moments in the coming stages and go for them.”
