US Champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) put his stamp on the stage 3 time trial, winning the 15.5km race against the clock in 20:06 at the Tour de Romandie.
"It was nice. I didn't know what to expect after the last few days. I had a good ride, and maybe I was a bit lucky with the weather. It's nice to have a win," said McNulty, who was an early start under dry conditions that then turned to rain in the last half of the event.
"I was lucky to be in the dry, and it's a bit strange because you don't know if you were actually the fastest, but always happy with a win."
His fellow countryman Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers) was a distant second, finishing the time trial 13 seconds slower than McNulty.
It was a good day for UAE Team Emirates as McNulty's teammates Felix Großschartner finished in third place at 15 seconds down and Juan Ayuso in fourth at 21 seconds down, taking the overall race lead in Oron.
"Now we obviously need to defend because tomorrow will be a tough day," McNulty said. "We look forward to defending the jersey now."
Ayuso now leads the overall classification by seven seconds ahead of Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-QuickStep) and 10 seconds ahead of Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe).
The race heads into the mountains for the queen stage 4 on Saturday, a 160km race from Saillon to Leysin.
How it Unfolded
The third stage at the Tour de Romandie was a 15.5km time trial that started and finished in Oron with a loop that offered a gentle rise on the way out to the mid-route (7.9km) time check and a predominantly downhill back into Oron. Although the event started under dry conditions, the rain rolled in for the second half of the race, making the roads slippery and dangerous for the late starters.
McNulty was an early starter, setting the benchmark for the rest of the riders with the fastest opening time, 20:06.
In the first half of the starting order, few riders came close to McNulty's time until his teammate Felix Großschartner finished with 20:21. Großschartner slotted in behind McNulty and jumped Johan Price-Pejtersen (Bahrain-Victorious) down to third.
The finishing order reshuffled behind McNulty again when his compatriot Sheffield stormed over the line with a new best runner-up time of 20:19, but still 13 seconds slower than McNulty.
Racing conditions worsened as the time trial progressed, with rain and slippery roads affecting the later starters and many of the general classification favourites.
Quick times came in from Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) at 20:29, Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) at 20:38, and Thymen Arensman (Ineos-Grenadiers) at 20:43, but it increasingly appeared that none would come close to McNulty's time.
UAE Team Emirates' GC hopeful Ayuso started the day in seventh place overall, but he crossed the line with the fourth-fastest time of 20:27, which put him in a position to take the overall classification lead.
Also in the hunt for the GC, Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos-Grenadiers) finished with a time of 20:34 and moved up ten spots to fourth overall, while Vlasov finished in 20:36 and moved up to third and Van Wilder with the same time but moved up to second overall.
Australian Champion Luke Plapp (Ineos-Grenadiers) - spotted riding a brand news Giant Trinity TT bike - slipped from third place overall to seventh, finishing the time trial in 21:05. Likewise, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who posted a time of 21:41, slipped from second to 15th overall.
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), the previous day's stage winner and overnight leader, was the last rider out on the course. While he looked comfortable closing out the event under the rainy conditions, his time of 21:44 wasn't enough to keep the yellow jersey.
Results
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