Another stage win for Visma | Lease a Bike in the Tour of Britain. After Olav Kooij took the first two stages, on day three he led out the sprint for his teammate Matthew Brennan. The Brit then expertly sealed the victory.
Day three of the Tour of Britain featured a short and relatively uncomplicated stage. Over 122 kilometers, the route went mostly flat from Milton Keynes to Amptill. A bunch sprint was the most likely outcome.
Milton Keynes) AmpthillThe breakaway of the day consisted of four riders. Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step), the biggest name upfront, was accompanied by Robin Froidevaux (Tudor), Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Ben Chilton (Great Britain national team). The quartet never gained more than two minutes on the peloton. Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the pace back in the peloton, gradually reducing the gap as they approached the finale. Axel Huens then tried to make a jump in the finale, but the Frenchman from Unibet Tietema Rockets was unsuccessful.
Evenepoel and Vermeersch make their move
Eleven kilometers from the finish, Remco Evenepoel also started to stir things up. Along with a few other riders, he bridged up to the breakaway, but the peloton caught them a few seconds later. So, a general regrouping. There were a few more attacks, including one from Florian Vermeersch, but a mass sprint was inevitable. We headed into Amptill with a large group.
Approaching the final kilometer, Tudor took the lead, but then the men from Unibet Tietema Rockets came forward. Visma | Lease a Bike also launched their sprint with Kooij and Matthew Brennan. The Dutch GC leader led out the sprint for his British teammate. Nobody could match this duo. Brennan won convincingly ahead of Alberto Dainese and Rui Oliveira. Kooij, who crossed the line in ninth place, remains leader in the general classification.
Tour of Britain| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02:35:45 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
