Punchy stage in the Dauphiné surprisingly goes to Derek Gee, crashed Roglic loses teammates in the finale

Derek Gee triumphed in Les Estables, winning the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Israel-Premier Tech rider proved the strongest on an uphill finish. Primoz Roglic (BORA-hansgrohe) suffered a fall during the stage but managed to reach the finish.

After the impressive stage victory by Magnus Cort (Uno-X) on the Col de la Loge, the delighted Dane started the third stage in the yellow leader's jersey of the Critérium du Dauphiné, which began in Celles-sur-Durolle. Following Bruno Armirail's (Decathlon AG2R) near win the day before, there was plenty of enthusiasm for the early breakaway.

From the start, a group of six riders attacked, but the efforts of Dorian Godon and Mads Pedersen among others did not last long in the first thirty kilometers. After 32 kilometers, the eventual early breakaway took shape, comprising Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R), Remy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), and Harry Sweeny from EF Education-EasyPost.

Roglic's crash shakes up the peloton

What's usually a quieter phase in the race took an unexpected turn this time around: at 41 kilometers, the peloton was jolted by a crash involving Primoz Roglic (BORA-hansgrohe). The Slovenian was momentarily delayed but managed to catch up with the help of teammates, despite a scraped hip/back, as the peloton respectfully waited for one of its favorites.

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The three men in front gained a few extra seconds, but Uno-X soon took the lead to ensure the gap didn't get too large. Meanwhile, the peloton was already down two riders: Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), feeling less than stellar after a grueling Giro, did not start, while Lars Boven (Alpecin-Deceuninck) struggled during the stage and eventually withdrew.

With forty mostly uphill kilometers remaining, the lead of the trio in front was just about a minute, prompting some riders from the peloton to try bridging the gap, including Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) and Chris Juul Jensen (Jayco AlUla). The latter successfully made the crossing, but learned via his earpiece that team leader Chris Harper had taken a nasty fall on a bridge. Other teammates were instructed to wait, allowing Harper, with a bloodied arm, to receive the necessary support.

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The Aussie—like his fellow sufferer Lorenzo Fortunato from Astana—managed to rejoin the peloton, but was visibly troubled by his left hand and arm. Meanwhile, the pace at the front intensified, driven by Mads Pedersen and his Lidl-Trek lead-out train, as well as the presence of the GC teams.

As the final four kilometers, which ascended at a four percent gradient, approached, nervousness increased, and clusters of riders started to drop back from the peloton. Sweeny, Juul Jensen, and Prodhomme were easy targets at 2500 meters from the finish, while the main group was still primarily focused on positioning.

A surge in pace was inevitable, but Krists Neilands took his chance 800 meters from the finish. The Latvian saw his effort neutralized by Roglic’s domestiques, but Roglic himself was not present. This allowed Gee to take over from his teammate, which he successfully did despite Romain Grégoire being on his wheel.

Results stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné 2024

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