Epernay (France) (AFP)
Victory and yellow jersey: Julian Alaphilippe made double blow in the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, Monday, in Epernay, after a great style attack carried in the hills of Champagne.
The French team Deceuninck, world number one, went on the offensive in the wall of Mutigny, 16 kilometers from the finish. On the line, he preceded his first pursuers by about thirty seconds.
Alaphilippe, 27, won his third stage victory in the Tour. He is the first Frenchman to wear the yellow jersey since Tony Gallopin in 2014.
For second place, at the top of the finish, Australian Michael Matthews set the sprint of the first pack, under a summer sun.
The breakaway of the day, launched from the 5th kilometer, brought together four Frenchmen (Yoann Offredo, Anthony Delaplace, Paul Ourselin, Stéphane Rossetto) and a Belgian (Tim Wellens). Helped by a favorable wind, the quintet got up more than six minutes in advance but the peloton still maintained the pressure.
- "I did not think to isolate myself so far from the arrival" -
Wellens came out of the group at the entrance of the last 50 kilometers. He was taken back only 16 kilometers, at the top of the coast of Mutigny, he crossed in front just ahead of Alaphilippe, before stopping for puncture. He won the polka dot jersey for the best climber.
Alaphilippe appeared in this very steep "wall" to darken downhill. He made sure of fifty seconds on the peloton, a margin that he preserved for the most part despite the final uphill.
For the first leg on the French territory, Alaphilippe took his third stage success in the Tour, one year after igniting the audience by winning a stage in the Alps, another in the Pyrenees and the polka dot jersey.
"I was very motivated to make a good stage, the course suited me well," said Alaphilippe, very moved. "I was careful not to be trapped by the falls, I felt it was not too bad in the legs on the last difficult hill, but I did not think I was isolating myself so far from the When I saw that I had 30 seconds, I gave everything.
The first wearer of the yellow jersey, the Dutchman Mike Teunissen, dropped into the wall of Mutigny. He crossed the line almost five minutes late.
Tuesday, the sprinters find a favorable ground between Reims and Nancy. The course, 213.5 kilometers long, crosses Champagne and Lorraine to a final straight line of 1400 meters, with a curve to 280 meters.
? 2019 AFP