Spanish rider Juan Ayuso pulled on the leader's yellow jersey on Tuesday after stage three of the Paris-Nice cycling race.
INEOS Grenadiers, led by Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley, won the team time trial at Pouilly-sur-Loire, with Ayuso's Lidl-Trek team finishing second.
Frenchman Vauquelin powered his team to victory in the 23.5km test through the Nièvre region of central France, giving the British squad a two-second advantage over Lidl-Trek.
"I would have loved to take the yellow jersey but there's still a very, very tough week to go, so I have to look ahead," said 24-year-old Vauquelin.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale finished third at 11 seconds while Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma-Lease a Bike placed fourth at 15 seconds.
Juan Ayuso Eyes Tour De France Preparation
Ayuso took the yellow jersey from American Luke Lamperti thanks to the four bonus seconds gained in Monday's intermediate sprint.
The Spaniard ended the day with a two-second advantage over Vauquelin and three seconds over Onley, who jumped from 63rd overall.
Vauquelin is hoping to give France its first winner in the "Race to the Sun" since Laurent Jalabert in 1997.
"I feel really good," said Vauquelin.
"Especially since the weather is going to turn bad, and I think that's an advantage for me, unlike riders like Jonas Vingegaard or Juan Ayuso who are more climbers."
Ayuso said the race is an important test ahead of his Tour de France ambitions.
"That's even the reason I decided to come here and also to the Dauphiné," said the Spaniard.
"It's very important to get some benchmarks in preparation for the Tour de France, and our performance gives me a lot of confidence."
Ayuso has a 17-second lead over Vingegaard but remains cautious with five days to go before the finish in Nice.
"Seventeen seconds is not negligible, but we know it's likely to be complicated from tomorrow onwards with the weather.
"It's far from over."
Wednesday's fourth stage will be a 195km route from Bourges to Uchon with an uphill finale marking the first summit finish of this year's race.