Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) scored his first victory of the year as he won the third stage of the Tour de la Provence.
The third day of the race was 186 kilometres long, between Aubagne and Le Castellet, and included a final in the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) finished second, with Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) taking third. Despite a shortage of teammates, Gorka Izagirre (Astana) retained the lead ahead of the final stage.
“I had several teammates on the last lap and they helped me a lot today, putting me in a good position going into the final climb” said Gilbert.
“I was in the sixth or seventh position and remained calm when it began pouring with attacks, stayed attentive and decided to follow them knowing they will fight for the GC, thus giving me a chance to keep my energy for a sprint. After the chasing group caught us with only a few kilometers left, I continued to stay near the front and found the best position from where to open my sprint. It was very important to remain calm in a hectic finale like the one of today and I’m happy for pulling it off”.
https://youtu.be/wddW8tfhQ54
Tour de la Provence 2019 – stage 3 results (Aubagne – Le Castellet):
| 1 | Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | 4:25:10 |
| 2 | Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 3 | Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 4 | Simon Clarke (EF Education First) | ,, |
| 5 | Gorka Izagirre (Astana) | ,, |
| 6 | Cyril Gautier (Vital Concept-B&B Hotel) | ,, |
| 7 | Guillaume Martin (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) | ,, |
| 8 | Julien El Fares (Delko Marseille) | ,, |
| 9 | Dorian Godon (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 10 | Eddie Dunbar (Team Sky) | ,, |
Tour de la Provence 2019 – general classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Gorka Izagirre (Astana) | 9:26:53 |
| 2 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | +02” |
| 3 | Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 4 | Simon Clarke (EF Education First) | +08” |
| 5 | Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) | +10” |
| 6 | David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) | +15” |
| 7 | Eddie Dunbar (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 8 | Eduard Prades (Movistar) | +21” |
| 9 | Jimmy Janssens (Corendon-Circus) | +26” |
| 10 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | +32” |
