The 3rd stage of the 1952 Tour de France took place on 27 June between Le Mans, which was hosting the Tour for the first time, and Rouen, which was hosting the Tour for the third time. The route crossed the departments of Sarthe, Orne, Eure, and Seine-Maritime on a mainly flat course with a few climbs, covering a distance of . It notably passed through the towns of Alençon, Sées, Bernay, Grand-Couronne, Petit-Couronne, and Grand-Quevilly.
This was the third of the twenty-three stages scheduled for the 39th edition of the Tour de France, in which Fausto Coppi started as the overwhelming favorite, in the absence of Hugo Koblet, winner of the previous edition, and Louison Bobet, the reigning French champion. At the start of the stage, the general classification was led by Belgian rider Rik Van Steenbergen, who had worn the yellow jersey since his victory in the first stage.
The stage victory was contested between two teammates from the French team. French rider Nello Lauredi finished ahead of Bernard Gauthier, who allowed him to take the win to secure the one-minute time bonus and claim the yellow jersey. Dutch rider Gerrit Voorting, also part of the breakaway, finished third, three minutes behind.
The stage is shorter than the average distance of Tour de France stages at the time. Only one serious breakaway is formed, and it manages to stay in the lead for virtually the entire stage. The seven riders — the term used for cyclists in a competitive race — enjoy a significant advantage for a time (up to 13 minutes) before the peloton reacts and reduces the gap somewhat. A crash near the end of the stage causes the breakaway to split apart, leaving the two riders from the French team alone in the lead. Four withdrawals are recorded during the stage.
The performance of the two French riders allowed the French team to win the stage, take the yellow jersey, win the stage team classification for the first time in this Tour, and move into the lead of that classification. Nello Lauredi also won the combativity award.
Stage profile The route of this stage was unprecedented, as no previous Tour de France stage had started from Le Mans before this edition. It followed the former Route nationale 138 for almost the entire stage between Le Mans and Rouen. The profile was mainly flat, with no major difficulties recorded. Finally, the stage distance was shorter than the averages known from previous editions of the Tour de France.:
First part (): a relatively flat section with a few short climbs The first part began on the outskirts of Le Mans, in the quartier Gallière area, before joining the national road towards Alençon. This section included no major difficulties, except for a short climb at Piacé (km 28) with an average gradient of 4% over . Then, between Nonant-le-Pin and Saint-Evroult-de-Monfort, three steeper climbs were recorded: the first (km 83) with an average gradient of 4% over , the second (km 92) at 5.6% over , and the third (km 94) at 7.6% over . The total elevation gain for this section was about over .
Second part (): a gently descending section with a rolling finish The second part was also generally flat, with a gentle slope over the first thirty-six kilometers, followed by more undulating terrain toward the end. A first climb came after Brionne (km 149) at 4% over , followed by a short section of at 8.2% before Bosrobert (km 154), and then the final climb before La Maison-Brûlée (Moulineaux), at 5.7% over . To finish, the route descended into the Seine valley and entered Rouen, with the finish located on the avenue de Caen at the end of a straight. The total elevation gain for this section was about over .
The organizer anticipates time gaps at the finish The organizer, writing in L'Équipe, stated that the course conditions were conducive to noticeable time gaps: the stage was short, and the difficulties were located mid-stage, suggesting a fast second half. According to him, the yellow jersey should not be in danger, but "fluctuations are possible, and the result will likely not be quickly forgotten".
+Route details of the 3rd stageDepartmentLocationkmDepartmentLocationkmSartheLe Mans0OrneMarmouillé76La Bazoge9Nonant-le-Pin80Saint-Jean-d'Assé15Gacé92Saint-Marceau19Saint-Evroult-de-Monfort93Beaumont-sur-Sarthe24Monnai106Juillé26EureBroglie123Piacé28Bernay134La Hutte (Saint-Germain-sur-Sarthe)33Malbrouck crossroads (Carsix)143Fyé36Brionne149Oisseau-le-Petit38Saint-Martin-du-Parc (Le Bec-Hellouin)152Béthon39Bosrobert154Arçonnay43Bourgthéroude-Infreville166OrneAlençon47Seine-MaritimeLa Maison-Brûlée (Moulineaux)173Valframbert51Moulineaux175Forges55Grand-Couronne179Le Perron (Saint-Gervais-du-Perron)59Petit-Couronne183Sées68Le Grand-Quevilly186Chailloué74Rouen, avenue de Caen189
Context at the start of the stage Following the second stage between Rennes and Le Mans, journalists covering the Tour drew several conclusions about the balance of power and the form of the riders and teams at the start of the race.
The Belgian team dominates the start of the Tour
The collective achievement of the Belgian team at the start of the Tour de France is unanimously praised by the international, national, and regional press, both for the performance of its riders and for the strategy adopted. Already holding the yellow jersey following the victory of Rik Van Steenbergen in the first stage, the team not only defends the lead in the general classification against attacks from the Italians and the French, but also manages to win the second stage thanks to the final breakaway of Rosseel and Close. After just two stages, the team has accumulated two stage victories, two wins in the stage team classification (Challenge International), two days leading both the individual general classification and the team general classification, and five riders in the top 10 of the individual general classification. The Belgians had not experienced such a strong start to the Tour since 1926.
Van Steenbergen aims to stay in "yellow" Rik Van Steenbergen holds a lead of more than seven minutes over most of the favorites (including Fausto Coppi). A strong time trialist and talented rider, he is nevertheless not considered one of the main favorites for the Tour by observers, notably due to his limitations in the mountains. However, they believe he could keep the lead in the general classification until the first climbs.
In response to those who might doubt his ambitions, he himself pointed out that he finished second in the 1951 Giro d’Italia. Thus, during the second stage, he responded to attacks from the favorites and young regional riders seeking a stage victory, defending his yellow jersey and proving that he intended to keep it for as long as possible.
A draw between the Tour favorites Aware of the status of clear favorite held by Fausto Coppi, the recent winner of the Giro d’Italia, the French team adopted an offensive strategy during the first two stages in an attempt to gain time before the first mountain climbs. Their attacks and attempts were numerous, but were systematically countered by the defensive strategy of the Italian team, with counterattacks from Coppi himself on several occasions.
In the end, after the first two stages, none of the presumed favorites from either team managed to gain an advantage over the others. However, several weaknesses were observed among their teammates, both on the Italian and French sides (including Fiorenzo Magni and Muller).
This situation raises questions about their ability to support their leaders in the remainder of the race. Some observers believe that these weaknesses could encourage teams, in the following days, to ease the attacks carried out against each other.
Race progression Stage summary Note:Given the approximate nature of some stage summaries written by the national press of the time, and despite cross-checking of sources, inaccuracies may remain in the mileage of events and the composition of breakaways.
Start from Le Mans and formation of the first breakaway On the morning of 27 June, the cyclists had a precise schedule to follow before the start of the race: 10:00: signing-in and refreshments at Place des Jacobins, in front of the municipal theatre of Le Mans; 10:50: rider roll call; 11:05: start of the parade via Rue des Jacobins, Rue Claude-Blondeau, Rue Marchande, Rue Dumas, Place de la République, Rue Gambetta, Rue Montoise, Avenue Louis-Cordelet, and the road to Alençon; 11:15: official start of the stage in front of the BP service station.
The expected weather was sunny and very hot, with an unfavorable east–northeast headwind.
On leaving Le Mans, the 117 riders took the Route nationale 138 and, almost immediately, two riders from the West/South-East regional team, Tino Sabbadini and Jacques Vivier, gained a lead of about one hundred meters over the peloton. They were joined by Maurice Quentin (France) and Giovanni Corrieri (Italy), but the latter did not cooperate, leaving the effort to the regional riders. This proved insufficient to maintain the breakaway, and they were quickly caught by the peloton.
A second breakaway quickly forms following an attack by the French rider Roger Buchonnet (North-East / Centre), joined by Corrieri (Italy). At La Bazoge (km 9), it already has a 30-second lead over the peloton. The duo is joined at km 15 by Bernard Gauthier, who makes the effort to bridge the gap.
His initiative is successfully imitated, after several attempts, by his teammate Nello Lauredi. He is followed by Louis Caput (Paris), Gerrit Voorting (Netherlands,Although the official name of the country is the Netherlands, the Dutch team was referred to in the press of the time by synecdoche as the “Holland” team, and the riders were categorized as “Hollanders”, terms which are therefore used in this article. Édouard Fachleitner (South-East), and Ettore Milano (Italy), who manage to break away from the peloton. The five riders catch up with the leading trio at Juillé (km 25), which then holds only a one-minute advantage over the peloton. Shortly afterward, Milano suffers a puncture and is caught again by the peloton.
Behind them, the Belgian rider Maurice Blomme also punctures, forcing his team—tasked with defending the yellow jersey of Rik Van Steenbergen—to slow down slightly and allow four riders to drop back to wait for him.
The gap widens between the breakaway and the peloton over about 100 kilometres
The gap gradually increases. Shortly before passing near Fyé (km 35), the seven leading riders have a one-minute advantage over Gilbert Bauvin (North-East / Centre), who has attacked, and a lead of 2 minutes 10 seconds over the peloton. The leaders are riding five minutes ahead of the schedule, at an average speed of 40.5 km/h during the first hour. Twelve kilometers later, in Alençon (km 47), the gap has grown to 4 minutes 50 seconds. Bauvin is caught, while Jean-Marie Cieleczka (North-East / Centre) attempts to break away.
Meanwhile, the Belgian team is once again slowed down by a puncture suffered by Robert Vanderstockt, who is also waited for by his teammates. In the peloton, several riders are dropped and abandon, including Germain Derijcke (Belgium), who had been suffering since the previous day and was dropped from km 30, André Dufraisse (West / South-West), who was suffering from boils, and Robert Ducard (North-East / Centre), who was also ill.
Roger Rossinelli (North-East / Centre) attempts to bridge across to the breakaway but fails to create a gap. Meanwhile, members of the French team take control at the front of the peloton while trying to slow its pace. The breakaway continues to gain time: 6 minutes 50 seconds at Le Perron (km 59), 8 minutes at Sées (km 68), and 9 minutes 30 seconds at Nonant-le-Pin (km 79). At that point, Fachleitner (South-East) becomes the virtual yellow jersey holder.