Stybar wins stage 3 of the Eneco Tour

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Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma QuickStep) was the surprise winner of stage three of the Eneco Tour, out-sprinting Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Lampre Merida) and Lars Boom (Belkin) after the trio broke clear with Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) in the final two kilometres.

Lars Boom opened the sprint having just made contact with the leaders after they’d created a gap on the rest of the field. However, it was Stybar who crossed the line in first place after Boom slowed, and with Richeze just missing out on victory.

"It was a really difficult final," Stybar said, noting the cross-headwind. "When I did the sprint in the final I waited, waited, and waited for the right moment. I let the other guys pass, jumped on the wheel of Richeze and then I came out from his wheel and I did my sprint in the very last moment to be powerful enough to pass him.

"It's really nice to have a win like this. It's especially nice because tomorrow we arrive in Essen where I live with my girlfriend when I am in Belgium. It's really nice to arrive there with the win. We will see now, as starting on Friday we will start the weekend for the GC. I am focused on the TT. I know I will lose something but I want to try to go full gas and try to go into the final two stages in a good GC position. In Tour de Pologne I was pretty OK on the climbs. I will try to do my best on Saturday, and Sunday, the finish is more for my skills."

Arnaud Demare (FDJ) retained his lead in the overall, although defending champion Lars Boom picked up vital bonus seconds in the fight for the leader’s jersey and moved up to second overall. The Belkin rider now lies just one second down on Demare with Stybar a further two seconds down.

How it unfolded

Alex Rasmussen (Garmin Sharp), Axel Domont (AG2R), Eloy Teruel (Movistar), and Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise) formed the break of the day early on.

Their lead peaked at close to 6 minutes but with 70km remaining their advantage was down to just over 90 seconds.

The peloton began splitting in the cross winds as the race hit the coast, and the injection of pace was enough for the QuickStep-led charge to reel in the four leaders as a number of riders struggled to return to the peloton.

Taylor Phinney and Theo Bos were among those who missed out, but the hesitation at the front and the change in wind direction meant that the gap never grew beyond 15 seconds.

There was a regrouping soon after but still feeling fresh, Wallays jumped clear again, this time joined by his teammate Laurens De Vreese. The pair built up a lead of a minute with 44 kilometres still to go.

Wallays was the last man standing after De Vreese slipped back, but with the bunch breathing down his neck, the Topsport rider was always fighting a losing battle. The peloton afforded Wallays a buffer of 20 seconds with FDJ a prominent presence at the head of the field, race leader Arnaud Demare nicely tucked away near the front.

Inside the final 17 kilometres, with Wallays suffering and the peloton sniffing blood, the escape was brought to an end. BMC, FDJ and Belkin swamped the front, with Argos Shimano also showing their mettle as they looked to bring Kittel into contention.

Garmin-Sharp set the pace with 8 kilometres to go with Tyler Farrar desperate for a win. The American team soon peeled off, Lotto and FDJ creating two leadout trains.

Argos rallied, capitalising on a tiring FDJ but inside the final two kilometres, as riders began to drop off the back, no one single team could control the field.

With the sprinters’ teams taking risks to remain on the front it was Andre Greipel who appeared to let a gap go with less than two kilometres to go. Roelandts appeared to be unaware that he was clear with only three riders for company, and the Belgian rider used his reserves as he drove for the line. He peeled off, allowing Boom to accelerate, more in a bid to ensure he picked up bonus seconds than actually win the stage, but it was Stybar who proved the fastest. The former cross-specialist timed is run to perfection, edging out his rivals on the line.

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