(AP) – Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) won the third stage of Paris-Nice on Tuesday after a breakaway, while former winner Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) claimed the race leader’s yellow jersey.
Hivert moved to the front with 20 kilometers left and soon became part of a three-man breakaway with Sanchez and Remy Di Gregorio (Delko Marseille Provence KTM).
Di Gregorio tried to drop his rivals toward the end with three unsuccessful attacks and finished third, with Sanchez unable to respond to Hivert’s acceleration close to the finish line.
Sanchez, who won Paris-Nice in 2009, took the lead from Arnaud Demare, who won the peloton’s sprint 38 seconds back.
Sanchez has a 28-second lead over Demare overall, with Gorka Izagirre of Spain in third place, 35 seconds off the pace.
Paris-Nice 2018 – stage 3 results (Bourges – Châtel-Guyon):
| 1 | Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) | 5:22:49 |
| 2 | Luis León Sanchez (Astana) | +01” |
| 3 | Remy Di Gregorio (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) | ,, |
| 4 | Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) | +38” |
| 5 | Mike Teunissen (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 6 | André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 7 | Magnus Cort (Astana) | ,, |
| 8 | Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 9 | Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 10 | Felix Grossschartner (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
General classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Luis León Sanchez (Astana) | 13:21:56 |
| 2 | Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) | +28” |
| 3 | Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | +35” |
| 4 | Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) | +38” |
| 5 | Mike Teunissen (Team Sunweb) | +41” |
| 6 | Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 7 | Roman Kreuziger (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 8 | Heinrich Haussler (Bahrain-Merida) | +43” |
| 9 | Felix Grossschartner (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 10 | Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
