Belgium Tour: Wærenskjold wins stage 3 time trial as Mathieu van der Poel takes GC lead

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Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) won the individual time trial on stage 3 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, finishing 12 seconds ahead of Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep).

Finishing 15 seconds down in fourth place, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) moved into the overall race lead by a single second over the Norwegian.

The flat 15.2km course in Beveren favoured the powerhouses of the peloton, with long straights and a handful of corners.

Alex Edmondson (Team DSM) was the early leader in the hot seat, setting a mark of 17:22 on a sweltering afternoon in Flanders.

However, he was toppled by U23 world time trial champion Wærenskjold’s time of 17:09. This is the well-rounded 23-year-old’s second win of the year after a bunch sprint victory at the Saudi Tour in February.

“I knew it would be really tough but I just tried to focus on myself and look at the power meter,” Wærenskjold said after the finish. “I tried to take the corners well and it worked out really well. I was close to the leader’s jersey, but I think it’s also good for me that we don’t go into tomorrow’s stage with it. It would be harder.”

Late starter Yves Lampaert was fastest through the intermediate time split but lost time in the second half of the race and could not beat the Norwegian talent.

Off second-to-last, Van der Poel could not defeat him either, despite a smooth and fluid style. However, he has put himself in pole position to win the race ahead of tomorrow’s hilly penultimate stage around Durbuy.

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