After being caught out in the finale of stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Monday, Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) made it through stage 3 relatively unscathed, finishing in the lead group in a stage won by Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe). Kruijswijk`s teammate Wout Van Aert finished second in the bunch sprint, extending his lead in the young riders` jersey and a day after the Dutch-registered squad announced that the three-time cyclo-cross world champion will be making his Grand Tour debut at the Tour de France next month. On paper, stage 3 looked like a straightforward day for the sprinters, but the unseasonably cold and wet weather added unwelcome complications for the entire peloton.ADVERTISEMENT `For sure it was less stressful [than yesterday] but for me, it was a terrible day,` Kruijswijk said to Cyclingnews while warming down after the stage. `I was already suffering in the cold and the rain. I think at one point I had seven layers of clothing over each other and I couldn`t get my rain jacket on over them, so I had to stop and then chase back on. it was not a nice day for sure.` Kruijswijk finished stage 2 in a group featuring Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates), among others, losing 31 seconds to GC rivals including former race winners Chris Froome (Team Ineos) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana). The Dutchman was unsure whether it will be possible to recoup the deficit before the end of the week, perhaps looking to the stage 4 time trial to claw back some time. At 32, Kruijswijk is making his debut at the Critérium du Dauphiné, often racing the Tour de Suisse or the Giro d`Italia ahead of the Tour in July. Despite having lost time to his rivals, Kruijswijk remains focused on building towards the Tour and bettering last year´s fifth-place finish, and he`s pleased with his current level of form. Van Aert continues to impress
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