A breathless day of racing on stage 3 of Étoile de Bessèges-Tour du Gard was won by Henri Uhlig (Alpecin-Premier Tech) from a reduced group sprint, who surprised Slovakian national champion Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) for his first professional victory and roared in celebration over the line on Friday.
With six catgeorised climbs on the route, it was expected to be a day for the puncheurs, but several of the fast men hung on and were still present over the last ascent, with Kubiš looking the likely favourite to take victory.
His Unibet Rose Rockets teammates pulled back a late move which was sparked by Dylan Teuns (Cofidis) in the final run for home, but they got swamped when starting their leadout. Kubiš was jumped by the charging Uhlig, leaving himself too much to do before the line.
Pre-stage race leader Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise) was dropped with 40km to go in the stage, meaning Kubiš – who started the third stage only four seconds down – moved into the leader’s jersey, with two stages remaining.
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