Ireland’s Sam Bennett claimed a convincing victory on stage three of the Criterium du Dauphine.
Bennett steered the leading pack home on the 177k route from Le Puy-en-Velay to Riom and never looked in danger of being caught as he sprinted to the finish after some brilliant teamwork allowed him to break clear in the final 200m.
Team Jumbo-Visma's Wout Van Aert came second in the sprint, with Italian Davide Ballerini close behind him in third.
Belgian Dylan Teuns retained the yellow jersey and his three-second lead over Guillaume Martin in the general classification.
The win represents Bennett’s seventh stage win this season and he joins Julian Alaphilippe as the top stage winner in World Tour competitions this year.
Dan Martin finished in the same time as Bennett, back in 76th place leaving him inside the top 20 in the general classification.
Martin is 17th, 55 seconds behind race leader Dylan Teuns. Bennett is 109th overall.
