No big changes in the general classification with four days to go.
Stage 3 of the Benelux Tour was a completely flat one, ideal for the sprinters, even more so after only five men made it into the breakaway soon after the start in Essen. The peloton kept them on what looked to be a tight leash, only two minutes separating them as they entered the first of the three local laps in Hoogerheide.
Twenty kilometers from the finish, the bunch trailed by just one minute, and bringing back the attackers should have been a formality considering the terrain and the many sprinters targeting the stage. Somehow, the quintet managed to remain clear for a handful of seconds and contest the victory, which went to Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert).
Third on the opening day, Alvaro Hodeg rolled over the line as Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s top finisher, while Kasper Asgreen remained on the overall podium of the race – after being brought back to the front by his teammates following an untimely mechanical in the closing kilometers – ahead of another flat stage, to Ardooie.
Photo credit: ©Bas Czerwinski / Getty Images
