TOURNON-SUR-RHONE, France — Fabio Aru won the third stage of the Criterium du Dauphine Libere on Wednesday after a well-timed late breakaway.
The 25-year-old Italian climber pulled clear 22 kilometres (13.5) miles from the end to clinch his first stage win at the race.
He raised both arms in the air after finishing the 187.5-kilometre (116-mile) route through the Rhone valley two seconds ahead of a chasing group, led by Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff.
Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador maintained the overall lead, six seconds ahead of Australian Richie Porte and 13 seconds clear of defending Tour champion Chris Froome.
Despite his impressive win, Aru remains more than one minute behind Contador in 27th place.
Victoria’s Ryder Hesjedal was 72nd in Wednesday’s stage and 11th overall, 49 seconds behind Contador.
Antoine Duchesne of Saguenay, Que., was 115th Wednesday and 112th overall, while Christian Meier of Sussex, N.B., was 121nd in Stage 3 and 115th overall.
The Dauphine is a traditional warmup for the Tour, which starts on July 2 at Mont-Saint-Michel.