Favorites stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné 2024 | Copy-paste, but watch out for revenge seekers!

A nice ride for the punchers, but especially those with a bit more sprint fiber in their legs. Will this scenario unfold again on day three of the Critérium du Dauphiné? It just might! Again no overly steep climbs, and a finish similar to Monday's. IDLProCycling.com previews the stage.

Preview stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné 2024

As mentioned, it’s a climbing day on day three, but never really very tough. Rolling hills, one might say. Five categorized climbs, with the last three all averaging just over five percent. A gradient that the average cycling enthusiast might find challenging, but by 2024 pro cycling standards, you normally need more to shake off the good climbing sprinters.

Climbs
22.1 km: Côte d'Augerolles (2.6 km at 5.2%)
87.6 km: Côte de Saint-Victor-sur-Arlanc (3.1 km at 9.4%)
125.0 km: Côte de Retournac (3.2 km at 5.4%)
147.1 km: Côte de Valogeon (2.0 km at 5.2%)
181.7 km: Les Estables (3.8 km at 5.2%)

Times
Start: 12.35 PM
Finish: around 5.00 PM

Weather stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné 2024

On Monday, there was dense fog at the finish, but Tuesday is likely to have better weather. With a temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius at the start in Celles-sur-Durolle, conditions will be pleasant. The sun might peek through at the finish in Les Estables, with the same temperature and hardly any wind.

Favorites stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné 2024

Shall we just take the top ten from stage two and hit copy/paste? Magnus Cort Nielsen has shown that he cannot be easily dropped by the big classification teams on finishes like this. The Dane will also wear the yellow jersey on Tuesday and would surely like to make it a double victory for Uno-X. Having already won on June 1, 2 and 3, Uno-X will likely take the initiative.

BORA-hansgrohe was the team that, along with Israel-Premier Tech, led the chase on day two. BORA did so for Primoz Roglic, who fell just short with second place. The Slovenian will undoubtedly want to try again. The same goes for Israel, with Dylan Teuns finishing only sixth, but perhaps seeing a bit more opportunity in this finale.

Visma | Lease a Bike finished third with Matteo Jorgenson, although it's questionable if the Killer Bees want to control a stage like this. If everyone is still together, the American is explosive enough. The same is true for Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Oier Lazkano (Movistar) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), who all showed themselves at the front in the second stage.

Riders who did not contend for the day's victory on day two might do so on day three. Think of Ciccone's teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart, the explosive and strong Juan Ayuso at UAE, and also Remco Evenepoel and Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step) who should be able to do better than their results on Monday. Andreas Kron (Lotto-Dstny) and Neilson Powless (EF) might also come into the picture.

Who are the favorites for stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné 2024, according to IDLProCycling.com?

Top favorite: Magnus Cort Nielsen (Uno-X)
Outsiders: Primoz Roglic (BORA-hansgrohe), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Juan Ayuso (UAE-Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)