In the age of the radio earpiece, it has become increasingly rare for a day earmarked for the sprinters to end in anything other than a mass finish, and when Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo) and his five breakaway companions slipped clear inside the opening two kilometres of stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, it seemed as if they were merely providing some early entertainment.
A little over four hours later, the same sextet was still lingering just ahead of the peloton, defying the odds as they hold off the pursuit of the sprinters’ teams. When the race reached Tullins, Bouwman emerged as the surprise stage winner, outsprinting Evaldas Siskevicius (Delko Marseille Provence) and Frederik Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) to claim the first win of his professional career.
“I still can’t believe it,” Bouwman said afterwards. “I know that my girlfriend, my parents and all my friends are looking on television and this is my first pro win, and it’s in the Dauphiné too, which is a really big race. I can’t believe it.”
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Bouwman began the day in the polka dot jersey of king of the mountains, having spent most of stage 2 off the front of the bunch as part of the échapée matinale. The Dutchman was out to repeat the feat on Tuesday, and he escaped up the road inside the opening two kilometres of the stage. He was joined in the endeavour by his teammate Alexey Vermeulen, Bryan Nauleau (Direct Energie), Frederik Backaert, and the Delko Marseille Provence duo of Quentin Pacher and Edvaldas Siskevicius.
“I came here with the goal to go in the break. I’m not a rider who can go with the best climbers or best sprinters, so today we had a really strong breakaway, with everyone pulling very hard,” Bouwman said.
The sextet covered some 47 kilometres in a brisk opening hour of racing, establishing a maximum advantage of 6:45 as the Lotto Soudal team of race leader Thomas De Gendt was content to allow them some early leeway.
A rare mistake
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