Stage 3 of the 2018 Tour de France is a team time trial that offers the GC-focused teams a chance to shake up the hold on the yellow jersey that the sprinters have enjoyed.
Ten years after last hosting an individual time trial, Cholet is back on the map of the Tour de France. Cholet is unfortunately notorious in Tour de France history, having been the site of the 1998 arrest of Festina sport director Bruno Roussel and doctor Eric Rijkaert. The last visit in 2008 was won by Stefan Schumacher, who later was booted from the race for doping. Riccardo Ricco also returned a positive sample there.
Cholet, being in a basin, starts with a hill at 4 to 5%. The villages of La Romagne and La Séguinière on the way back aren’t flat either but it’s a mostly rolling course on which specialists Team Sky and BMC Racing Team can comfortably swap turns while cruising at high speed.
Following the late-in-the-stage incidents of Stages 1 & 2, Team Sky has only Geraint Thomas at almost the same time as most of the other GC contenders. Team Sky has to beat Bora-Hansgrohe by fifteen seconds to bring the Welshman in the yellow jersey. The other strong challengers are BMC whose highest ranked rider is Greg Van Avermaet, with a deficit of sixteen seconds from Peter Sagan.
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