Pete Kibble stayed out of trouble over the weekend to retain the King of the Mountain jersey whilst Alberto Dainese (SEG Racing) picked up another stage win on stage three. Fellow Owen James (Cote D'Armor) took victory with a sensational solo break on stage four on what was an entertaining weekend of action. 

Dainese once again showed his sprinting prowess by beating Lorenzo Manzin (Vital Concept - B&B Hotels) and Nils Eeekhoff (Team Sunweb U23) to the line on stage three, but for the academy riders, stage three proved to be a huge learning curve as the racing was fast and frenetic throughout. 

But with Kibble safely in the KOM jersey after the third stage, it turned out to be another successful day for the academy. After taking near maximum points in stage two after sliding into an early breakaway. Kibble didn't find himself in a long-range escape, but instead was in the bunch and mopped up what could prove to be two crucial KOM points. As the race hit the free-flowing finishing circuit, Pete finished in the bunch meaning he was still inside the top 15 on the overall classification heading into stage four.

Right from the get-go the action was quick, everyone was looking to get into that all-important break. But it was a while before the peloton finally let five riders slip up the road. Ovind Lukkedahl (Joker Fuel of Norway), Clement Russo (Team Arkea Samsic), Marten Kooistra (SEG Racing), Tanner Putt (Arapahoe - Hincapie p/b BMC), Justin Mottier (Vital Concept - B&B Hotels) and Leo Danes (Nantes Atlantique) all got away inside 60km.

At one point, with their lead standing at over four minutes a possible winner from the break seemed on. But as the peloton hit the finishing circuit EverPro Racing and Team Sunweb took the chase up and helped reduce the arrears.

Heading into the finishing circuit, some academy riders were well positioned to grab an opportunity, but bad luck and some untimely crashes ruled out any potential glory. For Sam Tillett 'bad luck' seemed to be a common theme on stage three. He said: "The stage started well for me, sliding into a few moves, but SEG were strong."

"I had some bad luck with my saddle today which caused me having to manage the stage a bit in the end," he continued.

Meanwhile for Joe Beckingsale who is competing in his first European stage race at the this level, said: "Stage three was flat out from kilometre one!" He continued: "With the wind at our backs - good positioning was vital but harder than ever to achieve. I won't be underestimating a tailwind again."

Transitional stage four sees Wales Racing Academy come through unscathed

After a tough third day out, the fourth stage finishing at Chateaubriant was a fairly quiet one until the finishing circuit where leader Dainese crashed along with a few other riders. But for the academy it was a good day out, and for fellow Welshman James - it was a a day to remember as he held off the peloton in the final lap to take a sensational victory.

Ahead of Monday and Tuesday's important stages, Sunday's stage turned out to be a classic transitional stage, one which, on paper looked to have a bunch sprint written all over it. But James tore up the script in what was a great performance.

For Tillett, he was pleased with how the team rode well together, saying: "It was a good day out as a team. I thought we rode well as a unit."

Academy coach Rob Partridge weekend assessment

"A very positive couple of days with Pete still up there on GC and retaining the KOM jersey with three big days yet to come. We've also had our fair share of bad luck, but we've been bouncing back from it well, and the workload the lads have put in ahead of this is paying off. They're working well as a unit every day, and stepping up to the challenge.