Ethan Hayter won the individual time trial in the NIBC Tour of Holland. The Brit from Soudal Quick-Step posted the fastest time in Etten-Leur and took over the orange leader's jersey from Söderqvist, who finished second in the time trial. Christophe Laporte completed the top three, Alec Segaert came fourth, and Daan Hoole finished fifth.
On the third day of the NIBC Tour of Holland, a time trial was scheduled. The time trial, starting and finishing in Etten-Leur, was perfectly flat and covered a distance of 15 kilometers. The riders did not start in general classification order but in different groups to allow each rider to be accompanied by a follow car.
Etten-Leur) Etten-LeurThis also meant that only favorites for the day's win were on the course during the first hour. The first to set a serious benchmark was Johan Price-Pejtersen. The Dane from Alpecin-Deceuninck posted a time of 17m44s, good for an average speed of over 50 kilometers per hour. Among others, Arnaud De Lie lost significant time to Price-Pejtersen, but Rik van der Wal came quite close. The 22-year-old rider from Diftar, Dutch time trial champion at the U23 level, missed the mark by just four seconds.
Laporte bumps Hoole off the hot seat.
Next up was the Dutch elite champion, Daan Hoole. And the Lidl-Trek rider did not disappoint. He cut a massive half-minute off Price-Pejtersen’s leading time. Was the winning time already on the board? That was far from certain, as Jan Tratnik’s time (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) — just seven seconds behind Hoole — showed that much remained possible.
The time trial in Etten-Leur was themed around former resident Vincent van Gogh – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
This also proved true during Christophe Laporte’s time trial. The Frenchman from Visma | Lease a Bike clocked the best time en route and then beat Hoole at the finish line. He was more than a second faster than the Dutchman. Things looked good for Laporte, but some big guns were still to come. Especially prologue winner Ethan Hayter and leader Jakob Söderqvist were dangerous threats. At the intermediate checkpoint, Hayter first set the best time, immediately followed by Söderqvist. The Swede had started last.
Söderqvist versus Hayter
Alec Segaert was a second short at the finish line in Etten-Leur to beat Laporte, but Hayter came through. The Soudal Quick-Step rider, who had overtaken Olav Kooij on the route, rode a very strong second half and extended his lead over Laporte significantly.
Only Söderqvist remained to finish. The Swede had a lead during the course but lost a lot in the final kilometer compared to Hayter. He ultimately fell short by four seconds against the Brit. Thus, it was Hayter who took the stage win. The Brit, previously the prologue winner, also reclaimed the orange leader’s jersey.
NIBC Tour of Holland| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16:56 | |
| 2 | + 03 | |
| 3 | + 15 | |
| 4 | + 16 | |
| 5 | + 17 | |
| 6 | + 24 | |
| 7 | + 25 | |
| 8 | + 26 | |
| 9 | + 37 | |
| 10 | + 39 |
