The third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné was quite calm, but around fifty kilometers from the finish, it was suddenly disrupted by a serious crash. Julian Alaphilippe, Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) were among those involved in the fall, but they managed to continue racing. Andrey Zeits (Astana) appeared to be the most seriously affected by the crash.
Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), Nils Politt (BORA-hansgrohe), Natnael Tesfatsion (Trek-Segafredo), Oscar Onley (Team DSM), Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tsgabu Grmay (Jayco AlUla) also hit the ground, but initially, only Zeits retired from the race. Earlier, riders such as Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) and Antwan Tolhoek (Trek-Segafredo) had already abandoned the French preparation race.