Visma-Lease a Bike claimed victory in the team time trial on stage three of the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, sending a strong statement just before the Tour de France kicks off. The squad, featuring Paris-Roubaix champion Wout van Aert, completed the 28.4-kilometre course in Perreux nine seconds ahead of Netcompany Ineos, whose podium hopeful Oscar Onley led their charge.
EF Education-EasyPost, with overall leader Alex Baudin, finished third, 29 seconds adrift of Visma. The Frenchman holds onto the yellow jersey, maintaining a 12-second lead over the Netcompany duo of Onley and Kévin Vauquelin.
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe could only manage fifth place, 40 seconds back – a setback for the ambitious German team, especially as they eye the yellow jersey at the Tour opener on 4 July in Barcelona with time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz.
French rising star Paul Seixas, riding for Decathlon-CMA CGM, took sixth (+45 seconds) and sits 12th overall – one minute behind Baudin but still in the hunt. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) closed the gap, while Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) slipped to 16th.
Wednesday’s hilly fourth stage spans 167.4 kilometres with six classified climbs. The race, successor to the Critérium du Dauphiné, wraps up on Sunday.
