Critérium du Dauphiné - Stage 3

The “ramping up” of terrain and pace continued with Stage 3 here in France as we got into the BIG Alps. Although the profile of the first 80 kilometers looked flat, it was a little skewed by the giant Col de la Madeleine that took us up to 2000 meters. Seeing the jagged opening kms of stages 4 & 5, many riders knew their only chance to get in a breakaway would be today and this was reflected in our 50 km/hour average charge to the base of the Madeleine.

I was reminded what a massive effort and feat it is to just get to the front of this bunch, and then there is the part of needing the speed and power to get a gap. It’s nutty how fast we go and the combination of timing, position, and legs/lungs that are needed.

We worked well together as a team covering the bulk of the moves as they were going. The few times I went, it put me in the hurt box, and I struggled to recover during the relentless pace and attacks.

We groveled over a non-categorized 5 km climb (think Hwy 9 out of Black Mountain for the folks back in Asheville). Over the top, Chris launched and tagged onto a strong group that was going away and finally got a little leash as teams who missed it fizzled out in the chase.

As we hit the Madeleine, the pace gradually ratcheted up, and I took the chance to consolidate and not dig a hole any deeper knowing we had Damo upfront to look after Jack and Adam.

A slipped seat post on the downhill had me feeling like I was riding a clown bike at 40 mph and it took a while for our second team car to reach me so I could jump on my spare bike. Although it’s the same bike and same measurements, it’s amazing how different the two bikes can feel. Fortunately, my main task was to stay with my group in hopes of having something in the tank for the final two stages, which look to be the most gnarly in terms of demanding climbing and possibly leg exploding racing for this week.

Although it appears Jumbo-Visma has the race locked down, it was nice to see someone from a break win, even if it was a guy who in his own right is also a legit GC star. That seems to be the going rate here----the cost of admission to the front of the race is street cred that includes but is not limited to one-day Classic and Grand Tour stage wins and overalls! We will keep trying and looking to get Adam or Jack into play for one of the two left.