Gilbert, 2012 world champion who had not lifted his arms since 2019, took advantage of a bumpy final (400m at 5% average) to surprise the sprinters and finish two lengths ahead of Frenchman Jason Shard (St Michel-Auber93).
Another Tricolore, Julien Simon (Cofidis), completes the stage podium.
Former leader of the general classification, Tesson received a time penalty from the stewards for prolonged shelter behind the car of his sporting director after falling 35 km from the line.
It is therefore the Dutchman Arvid de Kleijn (Human Powered Health), winner on the first day, who wears the pink jersey.
The breakaway of the day, where the French Samuel Leroux (Go Sport) and Kévin Besson (Nice Métropole) were, as well as the Belgian Alex Colman (Sport Vlaanderen), never endangered the favorites.
If it has a time widened a gap of more than 5 minutes, the peloton has controlled it well before operating the junction 6 km from the line.
Friday, the 4th stage, which will take the riders from Mazingarbe (Pas-de-Calais) to Aire-sur-la-Lys (Pas-de-Calais), presents a flat profile which should smile on a sprinter.
© 2022 AFP