Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) surprised the favorites and beat the Critérium du Dauphiné timer on the day, in a demanding 31.1-kilometre individual time trial between Cours and Belmont-de-la-Loire, which left great changes in the individual general.
The Danish cyclist used a time of 27:28 minutes at an average speed of 49.80 km / h. The second position in the time trial was occupied by his compatriot Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) at 12 seconds and third place went to the Frenchman Rémi Cavagna (Soudal – Quick Step) at 27 seconds.
As for the American riders, the Colombian Daniel Felipe Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers) had an outstanding performance, arriving in box 11 at 1:07 behind the winner. The second best placed was Esteban Chaves (EF Eduaction EasyPost) in 37th place at 2:32; while Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) finished in 40th place at 2:37 behind the winner.
The most resounding fall occurred with the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who finished in 43rd place at 2:39 behind the new leader of the race, while falling from third place in the general classification to 27th.
In the general classification itself, the Frenchman Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) failed to keep the jersey jaune, which went to Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates), while Daniel Felipe Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers) climbed to ninth place.
The French round will continue this Thursday with the fifth stage, an undulating section of 191.1 kilometers, which includes three mountain prizes, between the towns of Cormoranche-sur-Saône and Salins-les-Bains.
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico