Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) was won stage 3 of the Tour de France after a tetchy, very tight, sprint saw Ireland's Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) getting boxed in just after he looked like he was in a perfect position.
Bennett was sixth wheel going into the sprint, but when his final lead-out man pulled over, the Irish rider hesitated as he was over 250m from the finish line. Bennett clearly believed it was too early to hit out for the chequered flag.
However, that moment of hesitation was to prove costly for Bennett as he fell in behind a number of other riders. And when the sprinters all became very tightly packed on the right side of the road, against the barriers, Bennett found himself boxed in.
Like Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) and a couple of others, Bennett simply had nowhere to go as the riders ahead of him were too tightly packed to offer a way out. The Dutch and Irish sprinters looked especially frustrated as they crossed the line into Torino, after missing a big chance, at the end of an incredibly boring stage.
Advertisement
Related News
???? ? ???????? ?????? ?
Biniam Girmay wins Stage 3 of the Tour de France with a fantastic sprint finish ⚡️ @GrmayeBiniam | @IntermarcheW | #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/OqDgcdhcFG
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 1, 2024
Girmay claimed the win, by almost a length, from Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) and Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny), with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 5th and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) in 6th.
For his part, Bennett had to be satisfied with 9th, a very poor return for the brilliant position he found himself in just before the finish. However, his lead-out ran out of gas just that little bit too far from the line.
A crash in the main pack some 2km from the finish caused splits through the field, with yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal QuickStep) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) among those held up, though they will be credited with the same time as the stage winner.
However, one man not held up was Healy's team mate Richard Carapaz. He was tucked in right behind the sprinters and took 14th on the stage. And by virtue of that stage placing - rather than any time gains - he takes the yellow jersey.
More to come.
