Froome back in Tour contention
Defending champion Chris Froome made up for some lost time at the Tour de France on Monday though Team Sky narrowly missed out on victory in the third stage, a 35.5km team time trial won by American outfit BMC Racing.
The Briton had lost 51 seconds to some of his main rivals after a crash in the opening stage but his team’s efforts against the clock around Cholet put him back in contention.
BMC clocked 38min 46sec as Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet took the overall leader’s yellow jersey, with Sky in second place four seconds behind.
“It’s a dream. We rode a good time trial and the whole team worked hard,” Van Avermaet said.
“We’ve got some specialists in the team, I’m so happy we got this collective victory.”
Overall, Froome is in 18th place, 55 seconds off the pace and still 44 behind 2017 Giro d’Italia winner Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, who with Team Sunweb only lost seven seconds to the Briton on Monday.
Among the top contenders, last year’s runner-up Rigoberto Uran of Colombia is 10th, 35 seconds behind.
Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas could, however, prove a thorn in his side as the Welshman is third overall, 52 seconds ahead of his leader.
Among Froome’s main rivals, France’s Romain Bardet lost 1:15 on Monday and now trails the Briton by 20 seconds.
Australian Richie Porte, who had also lost 51 seconds in the first stage after being delayed behind a pile-up, benefited from his BMC team’s performance to move up to 14th, four seconds ahead of Froome.
Tuesday’s fourth stage is a 195km flat ride from La Baule to Sarzeau.