Quick-Step Floors finish stage 3 of the French race in fifth place.
The fourth day of the Critérium du Dauphiné scheduled a 35km-long team time trial between Pont-de-Vaux and Louhans-Châteaurenaud, a test of brute strength which reshaped the overall classification ahead of the first mountain stage.
Quick-Step Floors were one of the teams expected to fight for a good result, and Julian Alaphilippe, Laurens De Plus, Fabio Jakobsen, Bob Jungels, James Knox, Pieter Serry and Niki Terpstra didn't disappoint, finding their flowing rhythm soon after the start and going fastest through the two checkpoints, in Romenay and Montpont-en-bresse respectively, before setting the best provisional time at the finish – 37:35 – after averaging 55.8 km/h.
One of the few team time trials at World Tour level this season, stage 3 of the race replicated the same distance of the Tour de France TTT scheduled next month, giving the riders a chance to make some fine-tuning before the month of July. Quick-Step Floors' display of power netted a fifth place at the end of the day, a result which helped Bob Jungels keep his top 10 position in the general classification.
"We knew we weren't the top favourites here, but I think we did well and I'm happy that my legs felt good today. It was a tough TTT, mostly tailwind, so you didn't have any place to hide and had to go all out from the start. Tomorrow a new race starts and I will see where I stand on the climbs, but regardless of what happens, I'll keep in mind there's still a long way to go to the Tour de France", Bob said after Wednesday's team time trial.
Stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné will feature the first summit finish of the race, Lans-en-Vercors, but only after the riders will tackle the Hors catégorie Col du Mont Noir (17.5 kilometers, 6.9%).
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
