March 09, 2016 (France) – Arnaud Demare avenged a season of struggle when he surged in the final stretch of a snowy first stage of Paris-Nice to outsprint Ben Swift (Sky) and Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) and snatch his first major victory since his French champion title two years ago. Australia’s Michael Matthews (Orica Greenegde) kept a close watch on his main GC rivals to retain his leader’s yellow jersey, even collecting a few seconds in the last intermediate sprint of the day before the final battle started on the gravelly lane that was the main ingredient on the day’s menu.

Four in the lead
A minute of silence was observed at the start in memory of French rider Romain Guyot, recently killed in a training accident. Light snow fell before the start, given at 11:54 to 175 riders and would keep falling intermittently all day. Almost on the gun, Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Perrig Quemeneur (Cofidis), Steven Tronet (Fortuneo) and Thierry Hupond (Delko Marseille) attacked and embarked on the long break of the day. After 14 km, the four led the peloton by seven minutes. The lead of the four escapees reached a maximum of 9:30 after 70 km. Given the cold temperatures and a slight tailwind, the average speed remained steady at 44 kph.

Echelon
After the sprint of the day won by De Gendt in Bonneval (km 104), the peloton started reacting and after 150 km, an echelon took place at the initiative of Team Sky and Etixx Quick Step. Most of the favourites were in the first part of the peloton, to the exception of Rui Costa (Lampre), Simon Spilak (Katusha), Jerome Coppel (IAM), ace sprinter Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and sick Philippe Gilbert (BMC). With 20 km to go, as the race tackled the gravel sector of Chemin de Tourteline for the first time, the break was reeled in, Thomas De Gendt being the last man to resist.

Two seconds for Bling
In the sector of Chemin du Tertre de la Motte, France’s Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo) broke clear on his own and collected mountain points as well as the intermediate sprint in Vendome. Race leader Michael Matthews outsprinted Team Sky leader Geraint Thomas to collect two seconds while the Welshman grabbed one. While Perichon was reined in, Team Sky kept leading the way, Luke Rowe taking a solid share of the work.

Demare surges
In the final climb, Jon Izaguirre (Movistar), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) and Geraint Thomas (Sky) were leading the way but a small bunch regrouped in the final three kilometers. Edward Theuns (Trek) ride to attack at the red flame, but he was finally brought back with 400 metres as the sprint started. Ben Swift (Sky) surged from afar, followed by Nacer Bouhanni, but Arnaud Demare had the last kick and the last word to snatch his second win of the season after a stage in La Mediterraneenne.

Stage 2 – Contres – Commentry – 214km
Michael Matthews (Orica Greenedge) tightened his grip on Paris-Nice with his second victory in three days after a contentious sprint in Commentry at the end of the longest stage of this 74th edition, a 213.5-km flat ride in the cold from Contres. The insatiable Australian surged in the last stretch in the wheel of France’s Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), who crossed the line ahead of him but was later disqualified for failing to hold his line. Italy’s Niccolo Bonifazio (Trek-Segafredo) was third in the same time. Matthews strengthened his overall lead with a 14 seconds lead over Ducthman Tom Dumoulin ahead of a crucial stage 3 finishing on top of Mont Brouilly.

Four in the lead
174 riders left Contres without France’s Jerome Coppel (IAM), who pulled out with sinusitis. From kilometer 0, four men broke clear: Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre), Mathias Brandle (IAM), Anthony Delaplace (Fortuneo) and Evaldas Siskevicius (Delko Marseille Provence). Their lead quickly grew and reached 10:15 shortly before the first intermediate sprint in Chabris (km 25), won by Siskevicius. The peloton, led by Matthews’s Orica Greenedge team-mates and Marcel Kittel’s Etixx Quick Step, raised the tempo and the gap stabilised at around six minutes (km 54).

Cat and mouse
The peloton continued to play cat and mouse with the four, who still retained a 2:40 lead at the top of the only climb of the day, the third category Cote d’Estivareilles (km 164), which saw Anthony Delaplace collect four points. But as the trains organised, the gap kept diminishing and the lead was down to 50 seconds with 30 km to go, shortly before Grmay was dropped by his breakaway companions. At the first passage on the finish line in Commentry, as Siskevicius picked three more seconds, the peloton were 35 seconds adrift. Delaplace lost ground in turn with 15 kms to go.

Contentious sprint
Siskevicius and Brandle shook hands as the peloton mercilessly passed them with 12 km to go. The sprinters trains seemed to struggle in the last ten kilometers, Kittel’s Etixx-Quick Step team-mates disappearing from view as Cofidis were the most active in the finale. Then Orica-Greenedge seized the reins in the last two kilometers, unveiling their leader’s intentions. Sensing the danger, Bouhanni launched the sprint with 250 metres to go but paid the toll for the hardship of the day’s long ride when he changed his line, blocking Matthews along the barriers. After checking the finish on video, the race jury awarded victory to the Australian.

Snow forces cancellation of stage 3
The 168-km third stage of Paris-Nice between Cusset and Mont Brouilly was cancelled on Wednesday after snow forced organisers to halt the race at kilometer 97. Five riders – Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Alexy Lutsenko (Astana), Laurent Didier (Trek Segafredo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) and Jesus Herrada (Movistar) – were leading the main pack by 3:30 when the race direction and the race jury decided to call it a day. The race was in the third climb of the day, Col des Echarmeaux, when it was judged too dangerous to go ahead.

The points collected in the intermediate sprint of Chauffailles (Km 84) and in the first two climbs of the day, Cote de Verney (Km 59.5) and Cote de Chateauneuf (Km 79.5) will be taken into account into tomorrow’s fourth stage to Romans-sur-Isere.

Sixteen escapees
The stage started in the rain and cold without Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Pierrick Fedrigo (Fortuneo), who both gave up sick. Later in the stage, France’s Arthur Vichot (FDJ), who was dropped early on, called it quits with gastric problems. Seven riders broke clear after 10 kilometers and were joined by seven other riders two km later. The fourteen were Marcus Burghardt (BMC), Luka Pibernik (Lampre), Ben Swift (Sky), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Simon Yates (Orica-Greenedge), Yury Trofimov (Tinkoff), David De la Cruz (Etixx-Quick Step), Kevin Reza (FDJ), Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Dylan Van Baarle (Cannondale), Laurent Didier (Trek-Segafredo), Alexandre Pichot (Direct Energie), Delio Fernandez (Delko Marseille Provence). They were chased down at kilometer 31 by Roy Curvers (Giant Alpecin) and Paul Martens (Lotto Jumbo).

Vuillermoz crashes
The lead of the 16 quickly went over four minutes, but the peloton raised the tempo to maintain them within two minutes. The break started scattering with the first climbs of the day and Gougeard, Lutsenko and Didier parted company with the group at kilometer 72. They were joined by Herrada in the descent of the Cote de Chateauneuf as the peloton split after Movistar raised the tempo. Their lead remained steady at around a minute until they received the support of Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) at kilometer 89. The snow kept falling steadily on the course and France’s Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R) was forced out of the race after crashing at kilometer 80.

Race cancelled
The conditions deteriorated and forced the race direction to stop the stage. It was first decided to try and restart it further down the road in Villié-Morgon but it also proved impossible. “The road was extremely slippery and the safety was no longer guaranteed. We are sorry. That’s Paris-Nice. We promise we’ll come back to Mont-Brouilly. It’s a pity but the riders will start again tomorrow from Julienas,” said ASO cycling director Christian Prudhomme.

Michael Matthews (Orica Greenedge) will start the 195.5-kms fourth stage with an unchanged lead of 14 seconds over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Giant Alpecin).

Results

Stage 1 – Condé-sur-Vesgre – Vendôme – 195km
1. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 4:29:53
2. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
4. Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
6. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
7. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
8. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
9. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
10. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
11. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
12. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
13. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
14. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
15. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale Pro Cycling
16. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
17. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
18. Jon Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
19. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
20. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
21. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
22. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff Team
23. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
24. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
25. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
26. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
27. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
28. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky
29. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team
30. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
31. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
32. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
33. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
34. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
35. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge
36. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge
37. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
38. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
40. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
41. Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
42. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
43. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
44. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
45. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
46. Gorka Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
47. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky
48. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
49. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
50. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha
51. Delio Fernandez Cruz (Esp) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
52. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale Pro Cycling
53. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek-Segafredo
54. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky
55. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge 00:11
56. Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ
57. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
58. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 00:23
59. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
60. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx-Quick-Step
61. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
62. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
63. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data
64. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
65. Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
66. Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling
67. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
68. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie
69. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
70. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
71. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
72. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
73. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie
74. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
75. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
76. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre-Merida
77. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
78. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre-Merida
79. Matti Breschel (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling
80. Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 00:43
81. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team 00:53
82. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team
83. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-Quick-Step
84. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:18
85. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 01:20
86. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx-Quick-Step 01:28
87. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
88. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-Quick-Step
89. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
90. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:55
91. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
92. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 02:22
93. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
94. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
95. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
96. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin
97. Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 02:42
98. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
99. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 03:20
100. Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
101. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 03:37
102. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
103. Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
104. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
105. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky
106. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
107. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
108. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
109. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
110. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
111. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
112. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
113. Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
114. Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
115. Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha
116. José Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
117. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
118. Jesus Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
119. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre-Merida
120. Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 04:45
121. Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 04:53
122. Leonardo Duque (Col) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 05:59
123. Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling
124. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
125. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie
126. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
127. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team
128. Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Team Katusha
129. Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie
130. Jerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
131. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
132. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling
133. Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha
134. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
135. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
136. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 07:33
137. Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
138. Sam Bewley (Nzl) Orica-GreenEdge 08:4
139. Thierry Hupond (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
140. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
141. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
142. Imanol Erviti Ollo (Esp) Movistar Team
143. Juan Jose Lobato (Esp) Movistar Team
144. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
145. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Lampre-Merida
146. Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data
147. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
148. Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling
149. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
150. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 09:20
151. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
152. Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
153. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff Team
154. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
155. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
156. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team
157. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
158. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data
159. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data
160. Amets Txurruka (Esp) Orica-GreenEdge
161. Daniel Diaz (Arg) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
162. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
163. Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
164. Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ
165. Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
166. Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team
167. Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
168. Cheng Ji (Chn) Team Giant-Alpecin
169. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
170. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
171. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
172. Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling
173. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
174. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
175. Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data

Stage 2 – Contres – Commentry – 214km
1. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 5:04:26
2. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:01
5. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
6. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
7. Andr_ Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
8. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
9. Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
10. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
11. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre-Merida
12. Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data
13. Jon Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
14. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
15. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
16. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
17. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
18. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team
19. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
20. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
21. Matti Breschel (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling
22. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:05
23. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
24. Gorka Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
25. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
26. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
27. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team
28. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
29. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie
30. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
31. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky
33. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff Team
34. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
35. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
36. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre-Merida
37. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
38. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
40. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
41. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
42. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
43. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky
44. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
45. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge
46. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
47. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
48. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
49. Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling
50. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
51. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo 0:12
52. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
53. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
54. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
55. Leonardo Duque (Col) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
56. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha
57. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
58. Delio Fernandez Cruz (Esp) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
59. Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
60. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
61. Sven Erik Bystr¿m (Nor) Team Katusha
62. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
63. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx-Quick-Step
64. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
65. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-Quick-Step
66. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
67. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
68. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
69. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
70. Gr_gory Rast (Sui) Trek-Segafredo
71. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
72. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
73. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin
74. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
75. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale Pro Cycling
76. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-Quick-Step
77. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
78. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky
79. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx-Quick-Step
80. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie  
81. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling
82. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
83. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
84. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
85. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
86. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
87. K_vin Reza (Fra) FDJ
88. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
89. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
90. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
91. Imanol Erviti Ollo (Esp) Movistar Team
92. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
93. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
94. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
95. Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
96. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
97. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team
98. Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
99. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
100. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre-Merida
101. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
102. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team
103. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
104. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
105. Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) Dimension Data
106. Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha
107. Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
108. Jay Robert Thomson (Rsa) Dimension Data
109. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
110. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
111. Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
112. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
113. Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling
114. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
115. R_my Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
116. Chris Anker S_rensen (Den) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
117. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge
118. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
119. Jesus Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
120. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team
121. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
122. Thierry Hupond (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
123. Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
124. Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
125. Daniel Diaz (Arg) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
126. Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
127. Jos_ Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
128. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
129. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
130. Michael Sch_r (Sui) BMC Racing Team
131. Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
132. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
133. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
134. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 0:30
135. Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
136. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
137. Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ
138. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
139. Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha
140. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data
141. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge
142. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff Team 0:35
143. Amets Txurruka (Esp) Orica-GreenEdge
144. Ama’l Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
145. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data
146. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie
147. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
148. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:41
149. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
150. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
151. Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie
152. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 0:42
153. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
154. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica-GreenEdge
155. Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
156. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
157. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:19
158. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
159. Jerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 1:21
160. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
161. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 1:56
162. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ 2:10
163. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 2:14
164. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data
165. Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team
166. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky 3:17
167. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 5:13
168. Sam Bewley (Nzl) Orica-GreenEdge 5:36
169. Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 6:35
170. Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling
171. Cheng Ji (Chn) Team Giant-Alpecin 9:56
172. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Lampre-Merida 0:15:44
DNF Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
DNS Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling
DNF Juan Jose Lobato (Esp) Movistar Team

GC after stage 3
1. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 9:41:46
2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:14
3. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:19
4. Jon Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
5. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
6. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team 0:24
7. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:25
8. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
9. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team 0:27
10. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
11. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:28
12. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:30
13. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:31
14. Gorka Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar Team
15. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
16. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:33
17. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
18. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff Team
19. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge 0:37
20. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
21. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky 0:38
22. Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie 0:40
23. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
24. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
25. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:41
26. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step 0:42
27. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
28. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 0:43
29. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha
30. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-Quick-Step
31. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky 0:46
32. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
33. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:47
34. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:48
35. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie 0:49
36. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
37. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:50
38. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:51
39. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
40. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 0:52
41. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:54
42. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge 0:59
43. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
44. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling 1:01
45. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
46. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 1:02
47. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky 1:03
48. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale Pro Cycling
49. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling 1:04
50. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 1:05
51. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
52. Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling 1:07
53. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 1:09
54. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step 1:10
55. Gr_gory Rast (Sui) Trek-Segafredo
56. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
57. Andr_ Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 1:14
58. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 1:18
59. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
60. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:19
61. K_vin Reza (Fra) FDJ
62. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
63. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie 1:20
64. Delio Fernandez Cruz (Esp) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
65. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge 1:22
66. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
67. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:23
68. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling 1:24
69. Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
70. Matti Breschel (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling 1:25
71. Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 1:27
72. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 1:28
73. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
74. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 1:29
75. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx-Quick-Step 1:30
76. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team 1:32
77. Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre-Merida 1:35
78. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team 1:45
79. Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre-Merida 1:48
80. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team 1:52
81. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 1:54
82. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:58
83. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-Quick-Step 2:14
84. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step 2:20
85. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 2:22
86. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx-Quick-Step 2:24
87. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team 2:57
88. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin 2:59
89. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 3:01
90. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 3:24
91. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 3:31
92. Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 3:37
93. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 3:54
94. Chris Anker S_rensen (Den) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 3:56
95. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 3:58
96. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 4:07
97. Jesus Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
98. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 4:15
99. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling 4:19
100. Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 4:23
101. Jos_ Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team 4:30
102. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 4:34
103. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha 4:39
104. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 4:40
105. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team 4:46
106. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 4:47
107. Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) Dimension Data 4:48
108. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
109. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 4:50
110. Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4:51
111. Louis Meintjes (Rsa) Lampre-Merida 4:52
112. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky
113. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha 4:53
114. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo 4:57
115. Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha 4:58
116. Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 5:50
117. Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 6:00
118. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 6:14
119. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 6:46
120. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling 6:50
121. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 6:51
122. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team 6:53
123. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 7:00
124. Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha
125. Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling
126. Sven Erik Bystr¿m (Nor) Team Katusha 7:02
127. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 7:06
128. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica-GreenEdge 7:08
129. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie 7:16
130. Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie 7:32
131. Leonardo Duque (Col) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 7:54
132. Jerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 8:01
133. Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 8:51
134. Imanol Erviti Ollo (Esp) Movistar Team 8:53
135. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 9:00
136. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ 9:02
137. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 9:07
138. Thierry Hupond (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 9:15
139. Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data 9:19
140. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 9:25
141. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 9:53
142. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 9:58
143. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 9:59
144. Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 0:17
145. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step 0:19
146. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:10:11
147. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:10:15
148. Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
149. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 0:10:27
150. Michael Sch_r (Sui) BMC Racing Team
151. Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie 0:10:29
152. Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:30
153. Daniel Diaz (Arg) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:10:36
154. Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ 0:10:37
155. Ama’l Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 0:10:38
156. Jay Robert Thomson (Rsa) Dimension Data 0:10:39
157. Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:10:42
158. R_my Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:10:48
159. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff Team 0:10:50
160. Amets Txurruka (Esp) Orica-GreenEdge 0:10:51
161. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data 0:10:53
162. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:10:54
163. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data 0:11:07
164. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:11:08
165. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:11:11
166. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo-Vital Concept 0:11:36
167. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky 0:12:04
168. Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team 0:12:20
169. Sam Bewley (Nzl) Orica-GreenEdge 0:14:14
170. Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling 0:15:03
171. Cheng Ji (Chn) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:20:33
172. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Lampre-Merida 0:24:37