Gilbert wins stage, takes lead

Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) won stage 3 of the Eneco Tour with a characteristic attack on the penultimate climb. The Belgian champion also grabbed the overall lead in the race, picking up vital bonus seconds. Overnight race leader Taylor Phinney (Team BMC) came home in the second chase group, 37 seconds down, and relinquished his position atop general classification held since his prologue victory.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) had been the virtual leader on the road but he and the rest of the bunch were unable to respond when Gilbert launched his bid for victory with 8 kilometers to go.

Grega Bole (Lampre-ISD) outsprinted Ben Hermans (Team RadioShack) for second place on the day at the head of a 17-man chase group which finished eight second behind the Belgian champion.

"There was a lot of wind and I knew that I had to work hard. I put my guys on the limit and I had to work hard when I attacked," Gilbert said at the finish.

"The team thought about this kind of escape before and it was really fast. It's a route that suits me and I knew I had enough time when I got to the final climb and I gave it everything until I got to the line."

Gilbert's move on the penultimate climb was typical of most of his winning rides this season; built on solid work from his team, who set a furious pace at the foot of the climb, before launching an unmatchable burst of sustained pace.

Behind him Boasson Hagen was left reeling and despite using up Michael Barry in a furious chase, and with GC contender David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) pitching in, Gilbert at one point had a lead of 20 seconds. At the foot of the final climb it was down to 10 seconds, but the gap never looked like coming down.

Pro Continental teams flex their muscles

An early break had formed containing Tom Veelers (Skil-Shimano), Julien Fouchard (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne), Alex Rasmussen (HTC-Highroad), and Stefan Van Dijk (Veranda's Willems-Accent). Rasmussen, the only WorldTour rider in the quartet, was the odd man out but the group worked well and with 70 kilometers to go they had an advantage of 5:10 on the BMC-led bunch.

Rasmussen – who will ride for Garmin-Cervelo next season – was only 9 seconds down on race leader Phinney, but the gap began to slip as the leaders approached the final 60 kilometer circuit, with their lead down to 4:10.

With four categorised climbs in the final 30 kilometers their advantage dropped dramatically, as both Rasmussen and Fouchard dropped back and Veelers and Van Dijk pressed on.

With Sky and Garmin-Cervelo both aiding BMC, who were keen to set a steady but manageable pace for Phinney, the gap continued to tumble. But it was Omega Pharma-Lotto and primarily Gilbert's presence at the front of the field that lit the touch paper.

Once the surviving duo were caught the fight for position on the final climb began with Garmin-Cervelo looking to keep Millar, who started the day in third overall, protected. However, the most fought over space was for Gilbert's back wheel, such was the growing expectancy that the Belgian national champion would attack. Jelle Vanendert was the last Omega Pharma-Lotto man remaining and his effort thinned out the leading group with both Phinney and Boasson Hagen sliding back.

Having won the bonus sprint at 14km to go and gaining three seconds, it was Boasson Hagen's overall lead to lose as his American rival Phinney began to lose ground. However once Vanendert had run out of gas Gilbert assumed his role as the race's conductor. There was even a moment's hesitation as he switched places with Vanendert on the front before unleashing his kick.