Yves Lampaert (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) claimed the victory on stage 3 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, winning the 11.8-kilometre time trial from Scherpenheuvel to Zichem ahead of race leader Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).
The Dane had a 17-second buffer on the Belgian time trial champion Lampaert at the start of the stage, and fought to a fine second place on the stage, giving up just seven seconds to hold onto the race lead.
Pedersen's teammate Daan Hoole was third on the stage, having set the fastest early time and spent much of the afternoon in the hot seat.
Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) was a distant 10th on the stage and 19 seconds down on Lampaert but held onto third overall by one second over Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix). Wellens is 24 seconds behind in the GC.
The stage win is Lampaert's first of the season.
"I didn't have the best season so far and to win in my national jersey in Belgium in a time trial is not common. I'm very happy I could beat Mads Pedersen who is in really good shape. I'm really proud of my result today," said Lampaert.
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