Tour of Britain: Julian Alaphilippe wins stage three as Patrick Bevin takes overall lead with late sprint

Alaphilippe had his Quick-Step Floors teammate to thank for his stage win

Julian Alaphilippe of Quick-Step Floors celebrates his stage three victory (PA)

French rider Julian Alaphilippe won the third stage of the Tour of Britain on Tuesday after a bunch sprint at the end of the 128-kilometre course around Bristol.

Alaphilippe benefited from a strong lead-out by Quick-Step Floors team mate Bob Jungels on the home straight as he finished ahead of Patrick Bevin (BMC Racing) and Emils Liepins (ONE Pro Cycling).

Kiwi Bevin took the leader’s green jersey thanks to six bonus seconds snatched on the finish line and Australia’s Cameron Meyer retained second place.

The peloton climbs through Cheddar Gorge (Getty Images)

“I’m really really happy – like always when we win – but especially today because we tried since start of the race and today we knew it was a good opportunity,” said Alaphilippe, who moved up to third in the overall standings.

“The team did a great job all day, they controlled the race – especially the finale With Bob we were together trying to attack or maybe sprint with me and in the end he did a perfect lead-out. I was also really happy to finish the job of my team with a nice victory.”

Team Sky‘s Wout Poels finished 15th to stand fifth overall, 12 seconds behind race leader Bevin.

Reuters