Spanish rider escapes breakaway to win stage three
Time-trial specialist hails his ‘best day of the year’
Spain’s Iván Romeo won the third stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné when he streaked clear at the end of a 207km run from Brioude, claiming the overall lead. Romeo surprised his breakaway companions, including the Dutch world champion Mathieu van der Poel, to drop them in the final kilometres and lead the dash into the town of Charantonnay.
“I’ve been thinking about this stage for a month now. I can hardly believe it. It was one of the hardest days of my life, I wasn’t feeling well,” said time-trial specialist Romeo. “But I followed my instincts in the final. It’s the best day of the year for me. Hard work pays off.”
It was the second win of the 21-year-old Movistar rider’s career, and earned him the yellow leader’s jersey on the eve of the first time-trial in this edition of the Dauphiné. Romeo completed the hilly run across the southeast of France in 4hr 34min 10sec. Colombian Astana rider Harold Tejada came in second at 14sec, with Frenchman Louis Barré of Intermarché completing the podium.
