Ewan steals third stage win to prove he's no fluke

SISTERON • Australian Caleb Ewan timed his effort to perfection to win the third stage of the Tour de France in a bunch sprint at the end of a 198km hilly ride through the Alpine foothills yesterday.

Deceuninck-Quick Step's Sam Bennett looked in control, but the Irishman underestimated the headwind and had to settle for second place as he watched the Lotto-Soudal sprinter whizz around him to snatch his fourth overall stage win, with Italian Giacomo Nizzolo taking third place.

"In the last kilometre, I was a little bit too far forward so I dropped back a bit into the wheels then that gave me a bit of time just to rest the legs a little bit," the 26-year-old Ewan said. "In the end, it worked perfectly. Coming from behind is a bit of a risk, but I found my way through the barrier and I came with a lot of speed."

Ewan was proud to win again on the biggest stage, a year after taking three stage victories on his first participation in the Tour. "I'm so happy to get another win and then prove last year was no fluke. We have to take every sprinters' opportunity we can this year because they are quite rare this year."

Julian Alaphilippe failed to replicate his stage 2 win on Sunday, but he still managed to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey.

The 28-year-old, described by former Tour winner Geraint Thomas as the "darling of France", vowed he "would not be giving it (the lead) up" and so it proved yesterday.

No Frenchman has won the Tour since 1985 and the home hopeful is aiming to go one better this year, having led the Tour for 14 days last year before wilting on the penultimate stage to finish fifth overall.

Today's fourth stage is a 160.5km effort from Sisteron to Orcieres-Merlette for the first summit finish of the race, with Briton Adam Yates, who trails Alaphilippe by four seconds overall, aiming to overtake him.

There were also two high-profile crashes, just like the previous two stages, with the pouring autumn rain proving to be treacherous, unlike the clear skies when the Tour is held in its usual slot in early July.

Cofidis' Anthony Perez was forced to abandon the race with a rib fracture and a possible collapsed lung after crashing into his team's car, while Wout van Aert also had an accident some 6km from the line, though the Jumbo-Visma rider managed to cross the finishing line.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS