For this second French victory in two days, Gaudu offered himself the scalp of the Belgian champion who raised his arms when crossing the line and quickly understood his mistake.

As a consolation, van Aert recovered the leader's yellow jersey worn by Alexis Vuillermoz, left behind in the last 2500 meters.

This French festival in the heart of the Auvergne of Romain Bardet, present on the side of the road, was completed by Victor Lafay, third on the line after having also seemed able to gain at the altitude of 1396 meters.

But that was without counting on the return of Gaudu who benefited from the draft to come back at the last minute and win by half a wheel.

"I was a bit far but, in the 500 meters, Kevin (Geniets) comes back and I take his wheel", explained the young (25) Breton from the Groupama-FDJ team.

"I'm putting Wout (van Aert) in the draft and I'm going to eat him!"

First Frenchman from Dauphiné last year (9th) before achieving an excellent Tour de France (11th) marred only by a day without during the crucial stage of Mont Ventoux, the Finisterian was exulted after the line.

"After all the troubles in March, it was an explosion of joy", he admitted, recalling the disappointments suffered (fall, back pain, bronchitis...).

Revenge in the time trial

An elite puncher in hill finishes, Gaudu excels in this type of finish since this 169 kilometer stage ended with a 6.2 kilometer climb (at 5.6%) on the western slope of the Sancy massif, with the last 200 meters at 8%.

He thus signed his ninth success, the second of the season after a stage of the Tour of Algarve, in February in Portugal.

Second in the general classification, the Breton is 6 seconds behind van Aert, repentant after the finish.

"I made a rookie mistake," acknowledged the Belgian champion, apologizing to his teammates.

"We missed each other yesterday (Monday), we wanted to win today. We worked during the stage and I ruined it all. I lost on my own".

David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) winner of a tight sprint from Wout Van Aert at the finish of the 3rd stage of the Dauphiné in Chastreix-Sancy, June 7, 2022 Marco BERTORELLO AFP

The fourth stage offered him an opportunity for revenge in the form of a flat 31.9 kilometer time trial between Montbrison and La Bâtie d'Urfé (Loire).

"It's a course for real specialists, there is zero difficulty (relief), no technical trap", analyzes race director Gilles Maignan.

"After leaving Montbrison, these are long straights, for big riders".

The qualifier suits van Aert, silver medalist at the World Cup last year on an ultra-fast course in Belgium.

And, even more, to the world champion, the Italian Filippo Ganna, who got up on Tuesday at the foot of the final climb of Sancy to preserve his strength.

© 2022 AFP