Stage 3 has the peloton move into Belgium for a 188k stage between Heers and Andenne. A regular feast of KOM points available today. This is the stage where the punchier riders will look to put the hurt on the rest. Some of the less suited cobblers already lost significant time yesterday, today the ones who didn’t like Stallaert and Gamper will come under pressure.
The stage favorites show up are riders capable of sticking in the hills and finishing fast. Last year a member of the break hung on to win the stage.
About 18k gone. Ulloa has been out front since the flag dropped. A lot of riders have tried to join him but the peloton has been closing them down. So far only Owen has made it. Tiberi at 31 seconds the peloton at 1’02.
30k gone now. The leading duo now have 1’46. Bralirwa and Tafjord have been relentless in shutting down additional attacks and brought back Tiberi. But now they have let 3 more up the road, they have 57 seconds. The lucky trio are Kumara, Robeet, and Theorpanous.
At the first sprint Theorpanous beats out Owen and Robeet. Rumor has it the Cypriot will be riding in a combined McCormick/Trans/Kraftwerk team at Avenir. Gap up to 2’53.
With 116k to go the break is on the first climb of the day, the Mur d’Amay (Cat 3, 1.6k at 6.2%). From here on the parcours gets trickier with lots of short climbs. The lead is 5’37 having peaked at just over 6 minutes.
Robeet leads most of the way up but is passed near the top and Ulloa takes maximum points ahead of Owen. None of these riders had any KOM points to start the day but with all the points on offer they will have a shot at taking the jersey. Theorpanous is closest on GC at 1’38, moving out of a tie with Robeet thanks to his win at the sprint point. The next climb is the Mur d’Huy starts in 16k.
It is a tight battle but Ulloa pulls away to take 10 more points at the top of the Mur. Owen second again. Peloton at 5’04 with Bralirwa, Stela-Vita and Tafjord working.
95k to go and the peloton has split for the first time. 60 riders dropped in two groups. The back group includes Gamper and most of his teammates. They don’t seem to believe in him.
In a tight battle Theorpanous wins the next Cat 3, the Chemin des Gueuses. Robeet and Kumara get the balance of the points. Peloton at 4’11 with a 40-rider group including Gamper still 1’45 down. Sauber (Ghani) and Spark (Ratiy) on the front of the peloton.
76k to go as Ulloa wins the 2nd sprint point. Peloton at 4’01. Gamper group rejoined but he is now off the back again. Sterbini, 6th on GC, also in that group.
At the next Cat 3 Robeet takes maximum points with Owen second. Owen and Ulloa both on 16 points, 6 off the lead of Horvat, Robeet on 14, Theorpanous on 12, Kumara 8.
The break continues to share the points out, they are pretty evenly matched. Theorpanous takes the next cat 3, (the Rue de Perwez) ahead of Robeet and Owen. This climb is repeated as the last climb before the finish. The peloton at 3’33 and back in one piece. Popo4ever (Manamalage) and Zwift (Canal) have joined Sauber (Ghani), Bralirwa (Young) and Spark (Ratiy) in chasing. 66k to go.
Hagen, who the organizers had as a stage favorite, punctures. But is able to rejoin quickly.
A late charge from Ulloa gets him maximum points on the next Cat 3. Theorpanous and Robeet take the rest. The peloton at 3’20. 56k to go and the next categorized climb isn’t for 30k but there are constant undulations. KOM jersey still up for grabs as Theorpanous and Ulloa are now tied with Horvat for the lead with Robeet 2 points back.
50k to go for the peloton, the gap is 3’02. Forcing from Rhim has split a 40-rider group off the front. Van Hooydonck is the most surprising name to miss the split, he is in a group of 18 at 47 seconds. The GC looks likely to change as a number of top 10 riders are poorly placed - Golovash (4th) and Novardianto (10th) are both in the 3rd piece of the peloton and Gamper (8th), Van Aert (5th), Sterbini (6th) are all in the 4th group. But Schomber and Kopfauf, 1st and 2nd on GC are still well placed, although Kopfauf appears to be working for McCormick as he is helping with the pacemaking now.
8k later, a big turn from Ringheim has cut the break’s lead to 2’10. Van Hooydonck’s group unable to close the gap although he has got a lot of help from Van Zyl and Tiberi. None of the gaps are huge it could all come back together if the pace eases.
36k to go now, 10k to the Chemin des Gueuses which marks the beginning of the end of the stage. Break has 1’45. Spark sacrificing both 2nd (Kopfauf) and 3rd (Erdenebat) on GC for a run at the stage win. Probably makes sense as neither is likely to survive the cobbles tomorrow. Hamza, and a future superstar in Girmay, also contributing. Van Hooydonck group at 51 seconds, he is isolated but luckily for him lots of others in the group have been helping with the chase.
The break is on the steepest part of the Chemin des Gueuses, which is 2.5k at 4.4%. The peloton can see them as the gap is just 1’20. The Van Hooydonck group is still chasing, they are 43 seconds down. 28k to ride.
Van Hooydonck brings his group back up to the main chase group on the climb. He will need to move forward to avoid getting dropped over the top. Novardianto (10th on GC) and Van Zyl (11th) also among the rider rejoining. The next group is 2’05 back.
In the break Kumara takes first place but Theorpanous grabs 2nd and the KOM lead.
Bad news for Van Hooydonck, he did too much and is now dropped along with Ringheim who has completed his work for the day. Sony seem to be riding for Shiki Kuroeda. 38 riders, including many of the sprinters, survive in the front group and they are just 36 seconds behind the break where Kumara has attacked.
Kumara’s attack doesn’t have any impact and the lead is down to 17 seconds as the break takes the final sprint (Kumara, Ulloa, Robeet). 3k to the Côte de Saint Roch (Cat 3 2.k at 3.9%), 10k to the Rue de Perwez (Cat 3, 2.2k at 5.9%) and 17k to the finish.
Orlov and Marzuki decide not to wait for the catch and attack and immediately cross over to the breakaway. Behind a 50-rider group including Van Hooydonck and a number of others has almost caught the main chase group.
Marzuki takes the points on the Côte de Saint Roch. The break has been swamped and the peloton, led by Bertilsson is just 8 seconds behind.
The chasing group has fallen back again but a few guys were able to bridge over, Golovash among them.
The two attackers are caught but on the Rue de Perwez Marzuki again leads the way. Carr chasing him. Some riders who have survived so far are really struggling at the back including Kopfauf, Erdenebat and Schomber.
Over the top of the Rue de Perwez Kron attacks, Mick Van Dijke follows. 30 riders left in the lead group, the top 3 on GC and 7 others 54 seconds down. Frison (7th on GC) and Golovash also in that group which means Pidcock, Novardianto and Van Zyl are currently giving Xero a GC 1-2-3 (although the latter looks spent).
3.8k to go. Pidcock bridges up to the attackers but McCormick shuts them down. Van Zyl is dropped. Mostly down hill now.
Under the 1k banner Mick Van Dijke opens up the sprint. Behind him Pidcock, McCormick, Novardianto, Afewerki and Ackermann.
500 meters. Van Dijke holding on just ahead of Pidcock, then McCormick, Novardianto, Afewerki and Gaday.
200 meters, Pidcock goes to the front as Van Dijke fades. Rowe now leads he group behind Afewerki.
It is a stage win for Pidcock.
And a 1-2 for Xero both in the stage and the GC as, Novardianto, gets up for 2nd. McCormick third. A charging Afewerki pushes Mick Van Dijke back to 5th.
Rowe takes 6th followed by Losch and Ackermann. Disappointing for Zwift, who did much of the chasing, but Ackermann didn’t finish strong. Stallaert 9th and Van Asbroeck 10th.
Pidcock will also get the points and young rider jersey but Lampre deny Xero the team’s jersey. UBS also look good with Bohli and Van Asbroeck sitting 3rd and 4th in GC. Cobbles tomorrow.
Benelux Challenge 
