Leader Christophe Laporte crows victory again in the Dauphiné after a messy bunch sprint | Critérium du Dauphiné 2023

Today was national strike day in France.

And that was also felt in the Dauphiné. The only thing that caused a stir during the leisurely third stage of the French stage race was an effective demonstration during the stage, which even had to neutralize the race 100 kilometers from the end.

Furthermore, the peloton took a collective day off for 95% of the ride and the purebred sprinters – after two failed attempts – were finally awarded a royal mass sprint.

The sprinter teams therefore quickly put their trains on the rails and flew at full speed into the fast-paced final, where it was drumming and pushing to stay in the outposts. Resulting in two more crashes.

Lead-out Danny van Poppel eventually did what he does best, dropping his leader Sam Bennett in the final straight, but the Irishman clearly didn’t have the punch to finish it off.

As a last resort, Bennett deviated firmly from his line, which meant that a grumbling Dylan Groenewegen, among others, had to slam on the brakes. Contortionist Christophe Laporte winded through the jungle better and – just like during the first stage – was allowed to roar with happiness again.