Italy's Davide Formolo completed a courageous solo break over two Alpine summits to win stage three of the Criterium du Dauphine on Friday.

Join Pro to watch the 2020 Criterium du Dauphine live and on-demand

Overnight leader Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma was second, extending his lead over French climber Thibaut Pinot and Ineos general Egan Bernal with a late burst at the very end of the 157km run between Corenc and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville.

Former ski jumper Roglic once again underlined his burgeoning status as favorite to win the upcoming Tour de France while Bernal's teammates Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have been unable as yet to deliver the kind of support Roglic enjoyed on the steep climbs.

Bernal was nine seconds adrift of Roglic while four-time Tour de France champion Froome eased up, finishing 15 minutes off the pace.

Roglic leads Pinot by just 14sec in the overall standings with Bernal now seventh at 31sec in a top 10 littered with potential winners.

"It was a nice day," smiled the Slovenian after slipping on the leader's yellow jersey again.

"The two toughest days still remain, and we need to stay focussed, I have some tough guys round me," he said.

The 27-year-old Formolo of the UAE Emirates Team said afterward he had also won an internal battle with himself to fight through the pain barrier.

"My morale dropped but I continued to work hard and the victory finally came," said the day's winner who went solo on the epic ascent of the Col de La Madeleine, 17.3km at over eight percent incline.

Speeding through flower-laden Alpine villages with their wooden ski chalets, Formolo stooped low in a daredevil descent before tackling the 14.8km final ascent at 6 percent, with the peloton closing in fast.

"On the last climb I didn't know and I prayed that I would be first," Formolo admitted after he crossed the line in 4hr 6min 56sec.