Discover the Stage 3 highlights !
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More Information on:
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https://www.instagram.com/parisnicecourse/
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00 Bora Hansgrohe coming to the intermediate point and still in good shape here.
00:04 Going to be there or thereabouts with Sudar Quick-Step.
00:06 The problem is they're down to three.
00:08 Three against six.
00:09 The peloton arrived in Burgundy ahead of Stage 3.
00:18 Would it be a setting for the favourites to launch their Paris-Nice bid?
00:22 Last year's team time trial saw the event return to La Course au Soleil
00:26 after decades in the wilderness and no reason not to continue the experimental style debuted in 2023.
00:32 The final time's taken individually, meaning only one man need cross the line.
00:37 The GC men must decide whether and when to discard their supporting cast.
00:41 It can make for a wonderful climax.
00:43 Twelve months ago, Magnus Cott-Nielsen was in yellow,
00:46 even if Jumbo Visma signed off the best time.
00:48 After a curiously sedate Stage 2, the race looked set to ignite into life.
00:55 Bora Hansgrohe aimed to elevate their new leader, Pimos Roglic,
00:59 with Matthio Sobrero, Nico Dens and Bob Jungos for company.
01:03 Urbama without Swiss ruler Stéphane Kuhn,
01:06 who helped David Godoux to fourth in Dom Pierre Lombardy last year.
01:10 Yves Lompard and Mattia Cattaneo riding in support of Remco Evenepoel,
01:15 aiming for a Sudar Quick-Step win.
01:17 Linagaard and others missing,
01:20 but Visma-Lisa Baik still striving to aim high in questionable headgear.
01:24 UAE Team Emirates without Taddy Pogacar, but with depth to challenge.
01:28 2019 champion Egan Bernal and Ineos alongside last year's edition's runner-up,
01:34 EF Education Easypose, wanting to be in the conversation.
01:38 The difficulties are at the start,
01:40 so you have to keep as many riders as possible for the final,
01:43 which is relatively fast, it goes very fast.
01:45 We followed earlier, it's almost 60 km/h, 70,
01:48 so alone it's impossible.
01:50 So the climber is forced to wait for his riders,
01:55 the riders in the first difficulties,
01:57 to be able to have a great time in the final.
02:00 Nearly 27 km from the famous Abbé des Champs stadium,
02:04 where Eric Cantona graced the start of his career.
02:08 Tough to stay united, given the couple of bumps in the first half along the river Yon.
02:14 Those who keep the majority of their starters
02:17 could gain a huge advantage into the final slope back to Ozer.
02:21 Israel Premier Tech were the first team down the ramp in Ozer at 2.40 pm,
02:29 with the rest departing in four-minute intervals.
02:31 The first checkpoint reached just past the halfway point at 14.1 km
02:36 at the top of Côte de Jussy.
02:38 Astana were third out,
02:41 and the first to dip under 20 minutes for the best intermediate time,
02:45 56 seconds faster than Israel Premier Tech.
02:49 Jacob Fuglsang still the first to cross the finish in 33 minutes and 3 seconds,
02:56 the first marker of the afternoon for the former two-time Dauphiné winner.
03:00 The Danes soon aware his old team Astana had slashed his effort by nearly two minutes.
03:06 After two days in focus, the sprinters struggling,
03:11 Dylan Groenewegen and Fabian Jakobsen dropped by their respective teams.
03:15 UAE Team Emirates looked smooth as they negotiated the mild headwind in the opening phase.
03:22 Niels Pohlet and Felix Großscharner fell back by the midway point,
03:28 but with Joao Almeida, the white jersey at the last Giro,
03:31 and US Time Trial champion Brendan McNulty, they set a strong finishing time.
03:36 Team Jaco Alula just two seconds off at the intermediate,
03:41 but with four riders left, the gap widened.
03:44 Michael Matthews lead in Luke Plapp across the line,
03:47 but the Australian team 15 seconds down.
03:50 UAE flexing their Time Trial firepower,
03:52 though Jay Vine noted the challenges faced by all.
03:56 It's definitely about having numbers on that fast finish.
03:59 I mean, you want, I'd say at least, well, preferably five on that final, final run.
04:05 But yeah, it's also that first bit.
04:10 It's very bumpy, and it's a bit harder to put the power down on the bumps
04:14 before you turn right onto the climb.
04:16 So yeah, getting a really good fast time along that first five Ks is also pretty important.
04:23 31 minutes and 23 seconds, the time to beat.
04:26 Ineos and Egan Bernal produced a strong start,
04:29 but according to Carlos Rodriguez, it was a messy finish.
04:33 And soon Ineos slipped from the virtual podium
04:35 as EF Education Easypost edged the British side by two seconds.
04:40 Just shy of 4pm, Remco Evenepoel and Pseudo Quick-Step got underway.
04:45 The aero bullet without his rainbow skin suit,
04:48 but breezed through the first part with a clean finish.
04:51 The British team were in a good position to finish the race,
04:54 but were still a bit behind in the lead.
04:56 The British team were in a good position to finish the race,
04:59 but were still a bit behind in the lead.
05:01 Bora Hansgrove already down to three.
05:04 Roglic Sobrero and Alexander Vlasov heading for the slippy slide.
05:09 They find themselves down on Pseudo Quick-Step.
05:13 While Matteo Jorgensen had called the new helmet "alien technology",
05:18 already over 20 seconds in a deficit.
05:23 Evenepoel look set for victory, but Pseudo Quick-Step's train
05:27 affected by the weather and the strength of UAE's showing.
05:32 It's UAE team members that hang on in the lead,
05:34 and they're trying to get Remco Evenepoel
05:37 and spring him out of the duo through to the line.
05:42 Remco will take them across the line to complete fourth fastest only
05:45 for the Pseudo Quick-Step squad.
05:48 The rain playing a role in the failure for anyone left
05:51 to lay a glove on the leading time.
05:53 It became a race to limit losses.
05:55 Bismarck-Liessa-Baik were sixth as Jorgensen led them over the line,
05:58 38 seconds adrift.
06:00 Laurence Pithy enjoyed a surprise day in yellow,
06:03 but there wasn't much to celebrate at the finish.
06:06 And UAE were ready to celebrate.
06:09 Pithy's just going to try and give a decent lead out here for Davidov.
06:13 To come to the line, UAE team members have won the time trial.
06:16 Of that, there can be no dispute.
06:18 What's the final position going to be for the yellow jersey
06:21 and for the French favourite Davidov?
06:23 Across the line to conclude.
06:25 Decent effort just outside the top ten, unfortunately for them.
06:28 So a bit of time leaked here for Davidov.
06:30 Not quite what he would have hoped for,
06:32 but yellow jersey defending performance from Laurence Pithy
06:35 as he leads his team-mate to conclude the team time trial
06:38 here in Auxerre.
06:39 But it's victory for UAE team Emirates.
06:43 Last year, Pogacar was limiting losses.
06:49 This year, UAE had the power and the luck to produce an unbeatable time.
06:54 The five who pushed to the line weren't present in 2023,
06:58 but made a major impact with an average speed of 51 km/h.
07:03 Finn Fischer-Black taking them across the line,
07:06 but having been better placed before the start,
07:09 Branding McNulty crossed the wire to become the new yellow jersey.
07:14 Today was tough. It was a really heavy start.
07:17 The roads were like typical French,
07:20 just not super fast feeling and up and down.
07:23 And then it was super fast in the second half,
07:25 so you never really got a recovery
07:27 just because you had to either be climbing or keep the speed up.
07:30 So it was really tough, but I think we rode perfectly.
07:33 So it came together really well.
07:35 In truth, it was a surprise to the American,
07:38 who thought Fischer-Black had inherited the leaders jersey from compatriot Pithy.
07:42 Great day for UAE, a miserable one for Remco and Sudho quick-step.
07:46 Evenepoel blamed the weather and Lidl-Trek's dropped Tim de Klerk
07:50 for being in the way of victory.
07:52 The strength of their performance rewarded with McNulty in yellow
07:56 and the top four positions of the general classifications locked in for UAE.
08:01 Jorgensen at 32 seconds and Roglic at 54, the biggest losers on the day.
08:07 Laurence Pithy swaps yellow for green ahead of stage four.
08:11 And no points in the King of the Mountain category.
08:15 Minimatio Burgodeau continues in polka dots for another day unchallenged.
08:20 Fischer-Black missed out on one top, but happy and white as the Kiwi headed.
08:25 Luc Clap and Evenepoel.
08:30 The rugged terrain on stage four presents a big ask,
08:34 especially with two trips up the near 8% Mont Brouilly,
08:38 a test likely to weed out contenders rather than crown a king.
08:42 (upbeat music)
08:48 (logo whooshing)
08:51 (gentle music)