Paul Magnier has won the CRO Race for the third day in a row. The Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step was once again the fastest in a bunch sprint. He narrowly beat Ben Turner.
After two flat stages, day three of the CRO Race featured a hilly route. The riders were not faced with very tough climbs between Gospić and Rijeka, but the course went up and down all day. The final climb, just under a kilometer long with an average gradient of around seven percent, was situated ten kilometers from the finish. Was this climb tough enough to drop the sprinters for good? Or would Paul Magnier strike for the third consecutive day?
Gospić) Rijeka)Casper van der Woude on the attack
The attackers certainly saw opportunities, as five riders escaped in the opening phase. Among them was a Dutchman, Casper van der Woude. The 25-year-old rider from Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel was joined by Baptiste Poulard (Arkéa-B&B Hotels Continental), Mark Stewart (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), and Patryk Stosz (Voster ATS).
Van der Woude collected enough mountain points along the way to claim the polka-dot jersey, and there might have been even more to gain. Although Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Paul Magnier’s Soudal Quick-Step rode full throttle at the front, the breakaway held strong. At 17 kilometers from the finish, the four riders - with Stosz dropped meanwhile - still had a one-minute lead. At that point, Bahrain Victorious also started to take responsibility in the peloton.
Still a sprint
This acceleration caused the breakaway’s advantage to shrink quickly. Just before the final climb, all attackers were caught. Then top talent Jakob Omrzel from Bahrain Victorious launched an attack, but the Slovenian champion couldn’t open a gap. A move by Brandon McNulty also failed. Cracks appeared in the peloton, with leader Magnier dropping off the pace slightly, but he was back with the group at the summit.
A sprint was still not guaranteed. From the reduced group, several attacks were attempted. However, no one managed to escape, so the race came down to a sprint finish in Rijeka. INEOS Grenadiers had their sprint train well organized for Ben Turner, but the Briton had Magnier right on his wheel. The Frenchman came alongside Turner and seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but then the finish line suddenly arrived. After both riders launched their final jump, it was not immediately clear who had won. Ultimately, Magnier turned out to be the victor.
CRO Race| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:26:59 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
