point. Behind, there were several moves in order for riders to bridge a gap between the main field and the leaders; at the Col de Lalouvesc with to go, the leaders only held a gap of around half a minute over their chasers. Five riders tried to do so, but only one was able to stay in between the breakaway and the peloton. 's Anthony Roux was the rider in question, and he set off after the quartet up front, and was able to reach them with around remaining of the stage. However, the peloton was not far behind, and the breakaway did not last much longer after that. With the field back together, several riders attempted solo moves off the front of the peloton, including Kadri's team-mate Mikaël Cherel, but all were unsuccessful. The group remained together into the climb towards the finish; and headed the group, protecting their main riders Nibali and Cadel Evans from any potential trouble. World time trial champion Tony Martin tried to get clear within the final kilometre for but could not sustain a gap over everyone else, and rider Daniel Moreno timed his sprint perfectly, to take his third win of the season, ahead of French pair Julien Simon () and 's Tony Gallopin. Wiggins finished ninth to maintain his one-second overall lead over Evans, who was seventh. Stage 3 6 June 2012 — Givors to La Clayette, With a lengthy individual time trial and three mountainous stages left during the itinerary, the third stage was billed as the sprinters' one remaining chance at a stage victory at the Dauphiné. As such, the parcours of the stage suited them; although there were three categorised climbs during the stage – a third-category climb and two fourth-category passes – they were all within the first half of the stage. Two riders – Spanish pairing Luis Ángel Maté of and rider Egoi Martínez – went clear almost immediately after the start of the stage, making the early breakaway from the field, and the duo managed to extend their advantage over the main field to around five-and-a-half minutes, within the first of the stage. Behind the lead pair, 's Giovanni Bernaudeau was the first rider from the peloton to cross the fourth-category climbs, and regained the lead of the mountains classification from rider Blel Kadri. and looked to set the tempo on the front of the peloton,