Having missed out on a stage win and the first yellow jersey of this year’s Tour de l’Avenir by seven seconds in Sunday’s prologue, Joe Blackmore wasn’t going to let another chance for victory and the race lead pass him by on Wednesday.

The IPT rider, in action for Great Britain at the prestigious French under-23 Nations Cup race, won atop the category one La Rosière climb from a three-rider group who formed in the closing kilometre. He claimed the maillot jaune, too.

Blackmore went into stage 3 fifth overall, 1:05 behind race leader Henrik Pedersen, but the Danish sprinter was dropped as expected early on in a stage that featured two other first category mountains.

The 21-year-old then chased down nearest rival Jarno Widar (Belgium), who attacked a little under two kilometers before the finish, before Spaniard Pablo Torres bridged the gap to the leaders late on. Blackmore has already illustrated his ability to win summit finishes from reduced groups this year – his first stage win in February’s Tour du Rwanda came this way – and he made good on his confidence in the strength of his final effort as he took a comfortable victory.

“It was hard all day,” says Blackmore. “I just tried to ride conservatively over the first two climbs – I let Belgium and France do their thing. When I saw the attacks, I was a bit out of position, but I rode my own speed and caught them up. I’m a bit bigger than Jarno, so I knew I could bring him back on the flatter section [of La Rosière]. I backed my sprint in the end. It was pretty tactical in the last kilometer.

“Up the climb, I knew I was the virtual yellow. So in the last kilometer I didn’t come through, because I knew it was on the others to gain time on me. I’m super happy to take the yellow, and with a stage win, it’s great!”

Blackmore holds a nine-second lead over Widar, while three other riders sit within a minute of him on GC. The parcours is far from easy between now and Saturday’s final stage, which finishes on the Colle delle Finestre across the border in Italy.

“The last climb of the race is going to be challenging,” adds Blackmore. “Jarno was really good on the steep sections today – at some points today I was struggling to respond – so it’s going to be a fight to the end!”

Photo: Tour de l’Avenir