Day 3/3, and the day the puncheurs have been waiting for. The hills are not that high, but they come in plenty. Dropping the sprinters is essential for them, but is Degenkolb strong enough to stick with them?
Six riders open with attack: Sosa Carcueva Teuns Serrano Jones Eriksson
and away they got. Hofland, Cosnefroy and Masnada were met with more resistance and wouldn't be able to join the other six.
There are seven mountain sprints in the next fifty kilometer. Quick-fire reporting:
Kütersteenweg
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Eriksson
6
1
Andersen
30
2
Serrano
4
2
Quita
12
3
Jones
2
3
Cherkasov/ Eriksson
10
De Plank
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Teuns
6
1
Andersen
30
2
Eriksson
4
2
Eriksson
14
3
Carcueva
2
3
Quita
12
Varnstraat
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Teuns
6
1
Andersen
30
2
Serrano
4
2
Eriksson
16
3
Eriksson
2
3
Quita/ Teuns
12
Eperheide
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Serrano
6
1
Andersen
30
2
Eriksson
4
2
Eriksson
20
3
Teuns
2
3
Serrano/ Teuns
14
Varnstraat 2
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Eriksson
6
1
Andersen
30
2
Teuns
4
2
Eriksson
26
3
Serrano
2
3
Teuns
18
Vijlenerbos
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Eriksson
6
1
Eriksson
32
2
Teuns
4
2
Andersen
30
3
Jones
2
3
Teuns
22
Vijlenerbos 2
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Serrano
6
1
Eriksson
32
2
Jones
4
2
Andersen
30
3
Teuns
2
3
Teuns
24
So Eriksson is now the virtual leader with two climbs left later on in the stage. Teuns and Serrano also picking up a lot of points, currently third and fourth at 24 and 22 points, and still mathematically contenders. Andersen should hope for the break being caught before the final climbs so he can score some points to get back in the lead.
Sosa could not participate in the sprints and even lost contact, resulting in him being caught with 100 kilometer to go. The five leaders have a gap of four minutes. Vesuvio, Puma and Evonik doing most of the chase, Aegon, King Power, Moser and Isostar occasionally helping out. Gaudu punctured and is three minutes behind.
The intermediate sprint in Banholt is awkwardly placed just after tight corner. Teuns wins on inside ahead of Eriksson and Serrano. 75 kilometer to go, 3'30 the lead, Gaudu only losing more time as the peloton has picked up pace.
The peloton continues to set the pace high and the slightly undulated lap around Banholt brings some riders in trouble. Yellow jersey Degenkolb is still in the front group, but Grosu is down in the second peloton with Bakelants and Koretzky. There is even a third group with Yates, Vakoc, Bellis, Boswell and McCarthy.
Serrano, Teuns, Eriksson at the second sprint in Banholt, Carcueva and Jones didn't bother. They have caught up to Sibilla, Stannard and Gaudu, the last three riders in the race. They go left for another lap, the leaders straight on. The lead is down to two minutes over the first peloton, where group Grosu is back, and all mentioned puncheurs also pushed forward and rejoined. There still is a considerable second peloton at two minutes from the first including Reichenbach and Andersen.
The big three just survive to the third ascent of Varnstraat
#
Rider
Points
#
Rider
Overall
1
Teuns
6
1
Eriksson
36
2
Eriksson
4
2
Andersen/ Teuns
30
3
Serrano
2
3
Serrano
24
Which means Eriksson is at the very least co-winner of the mountains classification. Teuns has to win the final climb with the Swede not scoring anything to tie for the win.
The trio holds on to a twenty second lead with twenty-two kilometer to go, five to the climb. Carcueva and Jones have already been caught by the peloton which starts to thin out. Groenewegen, Vakoc, Boswell, Gastauer, Vogt and Chernetskiy some names who lost contact recently.
Serrano and Eriksson are caught at the 20k banner, Teuns trying to hold on for dear life. Isostar responsible for the pace with Calmejane, Tarvis and Per, but Degenkolb shows no signs of weakness yet.
Teuns is passed by 500 meters before the top and takes no points, because Calmejane fires up the Varnstraat. As this was also the last mountain sprint, it confirms the polka dot jersey will go home with Eriksson.
Aside from the Belgian and Frenchman, the first group only contains seventeen other riders: Bobridge (10th, + 35) Sagan (15th, + 41) Van Stayen (9th, + 33) Ponzi (14th, + 39) Van der Lijke (5th, + 28) Lutsenko (17th, + 42) De Bie (20th, + 43) Houle (4th, + 28) Koretzky (21st, + 43) Degenkolb (1st, 8h51'18) Bakelants (18th, + 42) Van Garderen (13th, + 39) Demare (8th, + 33) Mohoric (16th, + 41) McCarthy (23rd, + 43) Tarvis Abreu
Nineteen becomes sixteen as Teuns, Tarvis and Abreu drop off, leaving Calmejane as only helper. The final sixteen kilometers definitely aren't flat, but the other leaders have to conspire against Degenkolb to drop the yellow jersey. They have a lead of 1'30 to a group including Yates, Samolenkov, Grosu, Bellis and Hayakawa. Incumbent Kennaugh is in the third group.
The second group can see the first, and has closed in by twenty seconds in the last five kilometer. Despite helpers like Kuboki and Gerts available, the leaders there have to clean up themselves.
Calmejane is finally done, kicking off the game of no one willing to take the lead. Everyone slows down until Koretzky grabs the moment and attacks. Van Stayen, Van Garderen and Mohoric respond. Gerts, Grosu and Gabburo rode away from the chasing group, and closed in to 50 seconds.
Everyone more or less has the strength to follow Koretzky, but Degenkolb is now the second-a-last wheel, only ahead of Calmejane. Cadier en Keer is visible in the distance, only seven kilometer to go. Group Grosu is now at 1'10, the slight hill slowing down his progress.
Van Garderen can go faster than Koretzky and receives a proper gap. Bakelants sets after him, De Bie left to lead the group as Calmejane has dropped. Grosu and his companions caught by the chasing group again, at 1'30.
The American is brought back at five, Sagan next to attack. As the road is now flat perhaps even downhill, Degenkolb can answer these attacks and with no considerable hill until the finish, getting rid of him will be difficult. Bobridge following on his wheel.
Degenkolb had to sit down again and Sagan also didn't get anywhere, but now Bobridge goes for himself. He's at 35 seconds in the GC so a small gap with the 25 bonus seconds might take him to the win.
This attack persists, his lead is 16 seconds heading into the final. Mohoric, Van Stayen and Ponzi lead the chase, Degenkolb behind them with Houle glued to his wheel. McCarthy in trouble at the back.
Bobridge is not a sprinter and 16 seconds turns out to be too little. Van Stayen easily flies past but has De Bie, Ponzi, Demare, Van Garderen and Lutsenko by his side. Houle and Van der Lijke on the other side of the road, but Degenkolb all the way at the back of the group!
250 meter to go and Van Stayen still leads but Demare has more speed, having been locked behind Ponzi. Houle and Van Garderen are also in contention but needs a big push.
And Degenkolb is not even sprinting! He might not finish in the same time as the winner which would pretty much cost him the win. Mohoric and Sagan in front of him might keep him in the group if the individual gaps are not enough to award full time gaps.
Michael Van Stayen wins in Cadier en Keer! 25 bonus seconds are added to his tally, meaning he would win if Degenkolb finishes at eight seconds, with a serious gap between Bakelants and Mohoric occurring.
No second title or third stage win for Demare, but second place on the stage in a photo finish with Ponzi will also elevate him in the GC. We can only assess that once the whole first group has finished.
Houle fourth, Van Garderen fifth, Lutsenko sixth, Van der Lijke seventh, Koretzky eighth, De Bie ninth and Bakelants tenth. They take the bonus seconds and are awarded the same time as the winner, but what happens behind them?
Bobridge fell back quite a lot and ends up in eleventh, but in the same time as those ahead of him. Sagan twelfth and Mohoric thirteenth, also in the same time.
Which is positive news for John Degenkolb who also finishes in the same time, and hence wins the Ronde van Nederland 2020! The fact that he had no energy left for a sprint shows how deep he had to go to keep up with the front group today, but the reward will have been worth it!
McCarthy is the first rider at a gap, fifteenth at 58 seconds. With the next group minutes behind we have time to calculate the final GC:
As said before, John Degenkolb takes the win. In second and third we have the stage top two, Van Stayen and Demare, eight and fifteen seconds behind respectively. With Houle fourth (+ 16) and Van der Lijke fifth (+ 22), the sprinters got the better over the puncheurs. Ponzi takes sixth as best puncheur ahead of Van Garderen, Lutsenko and Bobridge. Koretzky completes the top ten ahead of Sagan, Mohoric, Bakelants and De Bie as all front group finishers. McCarthy takes fifteenth as the lead over the next group is big enough.
Calmejane finishes three minutes down in sixteenth, just ahead of the merged chasing group where now ex-champion Kennaugh wins the sprint for seventeenth. Gabburo, Gerts and Grosu complete the top twenty. Samolenkov and Hayakawa also finish in this group and take a GC top twenty, eighteenth and nineteenth respectively behind Kennaugh and Grosu and ahead of Gabburo.
John Degenkolb also wins the points classification with Demare and Van Stayen switched for second and third. Fourth is a three-way tie between Groenewegen, Houle and Kennaugh.
As already decided during the stage, Lucas Eriksson is King of the Dutch Mountains, with Andersen and Teuns tied for second. The other rider invested into the battle today, Serrano, takes fourth, while Quita's twelve points on the first stage is enough for fifth in the end.
Van der Poel, Christensen, Toupalik, Per, Vincent and Eriksson were the first riders eligible for the youth classification to finish, all in group Kennaugh. Of these riders, Toupalik had the best GC position as he finished in the second group yesterday, opposed to the third for everyone else. As Ganna and Goldstein finished two minutes behind and Major nine, they lose more than the advantage they had over the Czech, meaning the win goes to Adam Toupalik. The former two still take second and third, with Eriksson fourth due to his bonus seconds today.
EA Vesuvio was the only team with two riders in the front group ( Van der Lijke and Van Garderen) and hence win the teams classification. Second place to Isostar - Specialized while third is a tie between Evonik - ELKO and Bennelong - Mitchelton tie for third, but the tiebreaker is won by the former (99 + 43 + 76 = 218 versus 81 + 84 + 83 = 248). Aegon - Peroni completes the points scoring positions in fifth.
