David Gaudu sprints to the win on stage three of Critérium du Dauphiné as Wout van Aert retakes lead

The first summit finish of the race saw the GC riders and some puncheurs sprint to the win in Sancy, with David Gaudu emerging as the surprise winner, beating Wout van Aert who is the race leader once again.

The breakaway set off early on with six riders up the road. B&B Hotels-KTM had four riders up the road with intentions of having Pierre Rolland, Alexis Gougeard, Sebastian Schonberger and Miguel Heideman represented. They were joined by Thomad Champion (Cofidis) and Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team). They were chased by TotalEnergies who were keen on keeping the race controlled. 

The French team and Jumbo-Visma kept the group - which slowly lost riders - on a tight leash. The final three riders were caught in the first slopes of the final ascent where the pace was high from the start at the hands of the Dutch team.

A move from Remi Cavagna saw the GC riders begin to move, with Jonas Vingegaard then controlling the peloton, with no-one able to make the difference. Jumbo led the sprint for Wout van Aert, where he just barely missed out on the win as David Gaudu stormed through. The Frenchman stormed to a tight win, with Victor Lafay finishing third.