Santos Tour Down Under

Separated by just four kilometers, Tea Tree Gully and Campbelltown were the start and respectively finish location of Thursday’s stage 3, which at 145.6 kilometers, was the longest of this edition. For the first time this week, the breakaway comprised four riders, but with the peloton keeping them on a tight leash the entire time, their chances of pulling off a surprise were inexistent.

Once they were brought back, the sprinters’ teams began jostling for position while trying to keep things together on the rolling final kilometers. Julian Alaphilippe took center stage again in the run-in to Campbelltown, guiding the team and helping countryman Antoine Huby move to the front going under the flamme rouge.

The 21-year-old French neo-pro impressed with his turn of speed at the end of the stage won by Sam Welsford (Bora-hansgrohe) and came close to a maiden top 10 at World Tour level, concluding the day in 11th place. Ahead of what should be the sprinters’ last opportunity, Antoine gained seven positions in the general classification, where he now sits in 17th, just six seconds off the podium.

“The finale was hectic, with that tricky descent where we decided to play it safe and the fast run-in to the line. It’s a good thing that our riders weren’t involved in that crash, and we hope that all the guys who went down there are ok and can continue the race. We are really motivated to get something nice out of this race and we’ll keep doing our best in the remaining stages”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images