Dylan Groenewegen sneaks Stage 3 as Wout van Aert is bridesmaid again at Tour de France

After almost three years in the WorldTour wilderness, Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange Jayco) was back on top at the Tour de France, as a less-than-likely winner of Stage 3. Groenewegen beat Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) by a hair's breadth, the Belgian rider finished second for the third straight stage at the 2022 Tour de France.

Before today the Dutch rider, who was suspended for six months for causing the crash at the 2020 Tour of Poland that left Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) in a coma, had not won a WorldTour race since taking Stage 7 of the Tour in 2019. Ad/> Van Aert, who won the final two stages of the Tour last year, can take consolation from having extended his slender lead in the general classification.

Six bonus seconds awarded for runner-up spot give him a relatively plump lead of seven over Yves Lampaert (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl). After easing through his first stage in the leader’s colours, the maillot jaune came under fire from the wagging finger of Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), who felt the Belgian had not left him enough room in the sprint.

Tour de FranceTour de France 2022 Stage 3 — Route map, how to watch as final day in Denmark awaits19 HOURS AGO Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was also in the frame in an intriguing four-way sprint, eventually taking third ahead of a frustrated Sagan. Despite Sagan's protests, it had been a relatively stress-free finale, containing no major incidents.

A minor pile-up 10km from the finish separated around a third of riders from the main peloton, but all of the main stage and general classification contenders made it through unscathed. All told, Sunday was, if not quite a day of rest for the riders, certainly a more relaxed affair than the hectic occasion