SION, Switzerland: Frenchman Thibaut Pinot won the third stage of the Tour de Romandie on Friday, beating Tom Dumoulin by just two seconds in an individual time trial in Sion.
Movistar’s Nairo Quintana finished sixth to remain in the overall lead, 18 seconds clear of defending champion Ilnur Zakarin.
Briton Chris Froome finished fourth, completing the 15.1-kilometer course nine seconds slower than Pinot.
The FDJ rider’s victory was just the second time-trial win of his career and he now sits fourth in the overall standings, only 32 seconds adrift of Colombian Quintana.
The race continues on Saturday with the queen stage from Conthey to Villars-sur-Ollon, featuring three category one climbs.
Meanwhile, the International Cycling Union has tested bicycles at the Tour de Romandie for using hidden motors and all the tests were negative.
The UCI said in a statement that 347 bikes belonging to all teams were tested on Friday and that it has made a total of 507 checks during the race.
“Our ability to reliably test so many bikes has transformed our work in this area and we will continue to test widely in all our disciplines to ensure that anyone tempted to cheat in this way knows they are highly likely to be caught,” UCI President Brian Cookson said.
Earlier this year, a new scanning method was used that helped the UCI detect a technological fraud at a world championship race.
Femke Van Den Driessche of Belgium was banned from cycling for six years after a motor was found using magnetic resonance scans of bikes in the pits area at the women’s world under-23 cyclo-cross race in January.
Movistar’s Nairo Quintana finished sixth to remain in the overall lead, 18 seconds clear of defending champion Ilnur Zakarin.
Briton Chris Froome finished fourth, completing the 15.1-kilometer course nine seconds slower than Pinot.
The FDJ rider’s victory was just the second time-trial win of his career and he now sits fourth in the overall standings, only 32 seconds adrift of Colombian Quintana.
The race continues on Saturday with the queen stage from Conthey to Villars-sur-Ollon, featuring three category one climbs.
Meanwhile, the International Cycling Union has tested bicycles at the Tour de Romandie for using hidden motors and all the tests were negative.
The UCI said in a statement that 347 bikes belonging to all teams were tested on Friday and that it has made a total of 507 checks during the race.
“Our ability to reliably test so many bikes has transformed our work in this area and we will continue to test widely in all our disciplines to ensure that anyone tempted to cheat in this way knows they are highly likely to be caught,” UCI President Brian Cookson said.
Earlier this year, a new scanning method was used that helped the UCI detect a technological fraud at a world championship race.
Femke Van Den Driessche of Belgium was banned from cycling for six years after a motor was found using magnetic resonance scans of bikes in the pits area at the women’s world under-23 cyclo-cross race in January.
