Darren Rafferty again finished in the front group on stage 3 at Critérium du Dauphiné and though compatriot Sam Bennett was dropped in the final, he lasted much longer when the road kicked up in the final than he did 24 hours earlier.
That better showing on the climbs for Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) may prove important as it points to improving condition generally in a season where he is trying to return to his former powers.
If that were to continue, and Bennett was to recapture his superior climbing over most other sprinters - which is in evidence a few years ago - he may be in contention for stages at the Tour de France where other sprinters have been ruled out by the terrain.
Today, at the end of the 182km stage from Celles-sur-Durolle to Les Estables, Bennett was distanced with around 4km to go, at the same time that stage 1 winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek) also slipped out the back.
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Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) once again held his end up by making it all the way in the reduced bunch on a day when his team worked to position fellow 20-year-old Lukas Nerurkar; the British rider placing 3rd just behind late attackers Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) and Romain Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).
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? Another opportunity for the puncheurs today with this hilly stage to Les Estables. ?? Derek Gee wins and takes the Yellow Jersey before a decisive first meeting tomorrow!
⏩ Here's the summary of this 3rd stage of the #Dauphiné. pic.twitter.com/Gkh4bVwm8j
— Critérium du Dauphiné (@dauphine) June 4, 2024
Gee went first in their attack, inside the last kilometre on the uphill run to the line, chased down hard and then passed by Grégoire. However, while the young Frenchman looked like he may be on the way to a major win, Gee held him and then rallied to pass his rival and take victory from him.
They finished three seconds up on the 50-rider bunch, led in by Nerurkar, the son of former top British long distance runner Richard Nerurkar. Rafferty finished towards the back of the reduced peloton, in 49th place.
Bennett, though he held on for much longer in the final than on stage 2, finished in 138th at 7:25. By virtue of his win today - and his three-second time again and 10-second win bonus - now takes the lead in the race, by three seconds from yesterday's winner Magnus Cort (Uno X-Mobility).
Tomorrow's TT - a lumpy 34.4km from Saint-Germain-Laval to Neulise - should offer an interesting insight into the conditions of some of the top riders as the Tour de France nears, including Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Primož Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe), Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and others.
Rafferty's performance should also be interesting, especially as he is very strong against the watch and can climb. For Bennett, the TT will be about threading water ahead of what might possibly be another sprint chance on Thursday's stage 5, depending on the way it is raced.
