March 11, 2015 (Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, France) – Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge achieved a perfect sweep in the 179-km Stage 3 from Saint-Amand-Montrond to Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule with much more than a little help form his Orica-Greenedge team-mates. Ideally set up for the final sprint, the 24-year-old Australian delivered in the hilly finale to beat Italians Davide Cimolai (LAM) and Giacomo Nizollo (TFR) and seize the overall lead by the slimmest margin over prologue winner Michal Kwiatkowski (EQS) and compatriot Rohan Dennis (BMC).

Gilbert tests his legs

The break of the day took shape after nine kilometres when Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Florian Vachon (BSE) joined forces. The 2012 world champion, a contender for the KOM jersey, and the daily escapee from Bretagne-Seche, were temporarily chased by Antoine Duchesne (EUC) and Bradley Wiggins (SKY), who were later reined in. While Vachon collected the bonus on the first intermediate sprint of the day, Gilbert was first at the top of the 3rd category Cote de la Croix du Chene (km 53.5), ahead of Vachon and polka-dot jersey holder Jonathan Hivert (BSE).

Voeckler joins in

With conflicting interests, Gilbert and Vachon failed to cooperate fully and the bunch came back from 5:20 at best (km 30) to within a minute of the two until Thomas Voeckler (EUC) decided to chase behind them. The Frenchman caught up with the pair at kilometre 74 and the gap increased again to reach 5:15 at the foot of Col de la Bosse (Km 97). Gilbert did not miss his chance to secure the polka-dot jersey by adding four points to his tally. The last climb of the day, Cote de Vicq (km 117.5) confirmed the trend.

Bardet tries

The last 50 kms of the stage saw the trio’s lead regularly melt down and was down to 30 seconds when they crossed the line for the first time (km 159.5). Vachon picked the three seconds on offer in the second intermediate sprint while Gilbert eased off and let himself back in the bunch. As Vachon and Voeckler lay the arms with 9 kilometres to go, AG2R’s Jan Bakelants and Romain Bardet attacked on the heels of Paolo Tiralongo (AST). This last ditch attempt was quashed with two kilometers to go when the sprinters trains started to take shape.

Orica-GreenEdge seize the reins

At this game, Orica-Greenedge outclassed the rest of the field. They led the way for the whole finale, placing Michael Matthews ideally in the last turn, when the final hill receded into the last stretch. The other usual suspects were nowhere to be seen. Team Giant Alpecin were unable to place John Degenkolb in contention and only Alexander Kristoff (KAT) salvaged a few more points for his green jersey by finishing fourth. Matthews, the 2010 under-23 world champion, now added yellow to to his jersey collection after holding the Giro’s and  Vuelta’s pink and red garments in recent years.

Results

1. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 4:32:12
2. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team
6. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
7. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
8. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
9. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
10. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
11. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
12. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
13. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
14. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
15. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
16. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
17. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
18. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
19. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
20. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
21. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
22. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
23. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
24. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
25. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step
26. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
27. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge
28. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
29. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo
30. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
31. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
32. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
33. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing
34. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
35. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
36. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
37. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
38. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha
39. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
40. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
41. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
42. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team
43. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
44. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
45. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team
46. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida
47. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
48. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
49. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
50. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
51. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr
52. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
53. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr
54. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
55. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
56. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
57. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
58. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
59. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
60. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
61. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge
62. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr
63. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
64. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
65. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida
66. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
67. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
68. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky
69. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
70. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida
71. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
72. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
73. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
74. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling
75. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
76. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
77. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
78. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
79. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team
80. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
81. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
82. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
83. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
84. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
85. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar
86. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
87. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
88. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
89. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
90. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
91. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar
92. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
93. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky
94. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
95. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
96. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
97. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky
98. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
99. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
100. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
101. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
102. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
103. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
104. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
105. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
106. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
107. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
108. Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
109. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
110. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
111. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:20
112. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 0:21
113. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
114. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
115. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:25
116. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:26
117. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
118. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:28
119. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar
120. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge
121. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:30
122. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:34
123. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:37
124. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
125. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 0:39
126. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
127. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
128. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:42
129. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
130. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar
131. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
132. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:45
133. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
134. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
135. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:48
136. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
137. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky
138. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
139. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 0:52
140. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
141. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:54
142. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:57
143. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:58
144. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
145. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
146. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha 1:03
147. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
148. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 1:08
149. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge 1:43
150. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 3:10
151. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 3:15
152. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 4:03
153. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
154. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 5:18
155. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 5:46
156. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 9:30
157. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

GC after Stage 3

1. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 14:25:27
2. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 1
3. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 3
5. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 8
6. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team 0:11
7. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
8. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:14
9. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
10. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
11. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:15
12. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
13. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:16
14. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:17
15. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida
16. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 0:19
17. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
18. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
19. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
20. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
21. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team 0:21
22. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
23. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team
24. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22
25. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
26. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
27. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
28. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
29. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing 0:23
30. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
31. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
32. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:24
33. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 0:25
34. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
35. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:26
36. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
37. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
38. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team 0:27
39. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team
40. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:29
41. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
42. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida
43. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha
44. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
45. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky 0:30
46. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr
47. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
48. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling
49. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
50. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
51. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar
52. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:31
53. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 0:32
54. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
55. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
56. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr
57. Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
58. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida
59. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha 0:33
60. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:34
61. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
62. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
63. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:35
64. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
65. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo
66. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:36
67. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
68. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
69. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha 0:37
70. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
71. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
72. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 0:38
73. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
74. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
75. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
76. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:39
77. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
78. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:41
79. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
80. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
81. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
82. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:42
83. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge
84. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:44
85. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
86. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:46
87. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
88. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:47
89. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
90. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
91. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:48
92. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
93. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
94. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:49
95. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:50
96. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
97. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:51
98. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:56
99. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
100. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
101. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
102. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:00
103. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
104. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 1:01
105. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
106. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 1:04
107. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr 1:07
108. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge
109. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr 1:09
110. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:11
111. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:14
112. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 1:16
113. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
114. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 1:21
115. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:23
116. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 1:29
117. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 1:30
118. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky 1:31
119. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:33
120. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar 1:35
121. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 1:36
122. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar 1:40
123. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing 1:41
124. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar 1:43
125. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
126. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:46
127. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 1:52
128. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
129. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida 1:53
130. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 1:54
131. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 1:56
132. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 2:03
133. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
134. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
135. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 2:05
136. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 2:14
137. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling 2:21
138. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 2:23
139. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge 2:44
140. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 2:48
141. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 2:56
142. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 2:58
143. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
144. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr 3:06
145. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 3:33
146. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 3:36
147. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 4:20
148. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge 4:28
149. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 4:39
150. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 5:00
151. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin 5:34
152. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 6:05
153. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 6:32
154. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 6:43
155. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 7:34
156. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:13
157. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:10:15