On the two opening stages, John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) had to be satisfied with second place. On the third stage, which ended after 180 kilometers on the Magny Course racetrack, he turned the tables and was doubly happy at the end. In addition to the day's win, he also secured the overall lead.
“Everything finally worked out perfectly today”, the man from Frankfurt was correspondingly happy at the finish. Degenkolb relegated Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) to their places.
The stage in the Mecca of French motorsport was initially animated by Romain Feillu (Bretagne-Séche environment), Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar) and Julien Fouchard (Cofidis). However, the trio was kept on a short leash by the field and barely managed to gain a lead of more than three minutes.
In the field, the FDJ.fr team around the yellow Nacer Bouhanni dictated the pace. The French were supported by Astana, Sky and Movistar. Together they managed to catch Quermeur as the last remaining breakaway with almost two kilometers to go.
Result
1. John Degenkolb (Giant Shimano) 4:27:26
2. Matthew Harley Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) 0:00:00
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) 0:00:00
4. Borut Bozic (Astana) 0:00:00
5. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:00
Total
1. John Degenkolb (Giant Shimano) 13:14:01
2. Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr) 0:00:08
3. Moreno Hofland (Belkin) 0:00:12
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) 0:00:18
5. Geraint Thomas (Sky) 0:00:21
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