Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) accelerated past Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) on the final 200 metres of cobbles in Geraardsbergen and won stage 3 of the Renewi Tour. De Lie finished second for a second time in three days, with Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) fading from the three-rider breakaway to take third, 12 seconds back.
Wellens led the trio on the final kilometre through the centre of Geraardsbergen. Once on the twisting uphill cobbles at the base of the Vesten, De Lie moved out of the saddle to lead the charge in the breakaway group, with Wellens distanced immediately with the force of the acceleration.
Former World Champion Van der Poel matched De Lie's effort and made a smooth pass on the final corner to take the victory on the Vesten, which leads up to the iconic Muur van Geraardsbergen.
"If you have a finish on this kind of road here, you know it's gonna hurt. And I also knew Arno [De Lie] was going to make it a long sprint, and that's what happened. But in the end, I just had enough power to take the win," Van der Poel told TNT Sports broadcasters at the end of the stage.
Tim Wellens leads the breakaway trio for the final kilometres (Image credit: Getty Images)
The young Belgian scored six bonus seconds with his runner-up finish, which boosted him into the GC lead, just one second ahead of Van der Poel. The stage winner started the day 10 seconds behind race leader Merlier, who is now third overall at 21 seconds back.
A four-time overall winner at the Renewi Tour, Wellens made the decisive acceleration with 33km to go and ignited the three-rider breakaway. He was looking for his first win on the Queen stage into Geraardsbergen, but was denied.
Van der Poel made his first move from the peloton with just under 100km to go, charging off the front when the gap to a lead group of 11 riders began to fade from three-and-a-half minutes to 2:45, using the presence of several punchy cobbled climbs and his favoured territory to make up the difference.
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"I think it was a good moment. I wanted to make the race hard with the whole team, actually," Van der Poel said about his long-range move. "And I think we succeeded in the end."
The Renewi Tour is Van der Poel's first race back since withdrawing after stage 15 of the Tour de France, suffering from pneumonia. He had won stage 2 of the Tour, wore the yellow jersey and earned two other stage podiums before his abandon.
Stage 4 brings 198.7km from Riemst to a slightly uphill finish in Bilzen-Hoeselt, a replica of the opening day of racing from 2024.
How it unfolded
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Early breakaway on stage 3 before the cobbles on second-half of route(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck attacks from peloton to chase breakaway with 95km to go(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) form a two-rider chase group (Image credit: Getty Images)
Alberto Bettiol of XDS Astana Team competes on final lap across Muur de Geraardsbergen on his way to fifth place finish(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) compete on Muur de Geraardsbergen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Stage 3 winner Mathieu van der Poel(Image credit: Getty Images)
New GC leader Arnaud De Lie(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tibor Del Grosso celebrates at podium as Best Young Rider in red jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
Pavel Bittner celebrates at podium in Green Points Jersey (Image credit: Getty Images)
Friday's stage 3 featured 181.8km from Aalter to Geraardsbergen, which hosted the finale last year, and now a testing mid-week trail across 13 cobbled climbs for the uphill finish in the Flemish Ardennes. The first 75km were flat, with a quartet of cobbled climbs beginning with Rotelenberg (1km at 6.5%) signalling the second half of the lumpy course, 11 riders from an original break of 22 now leading the charge by over three minutes.
With 95km to go after crossing the top of the Berg Ten Houte (1.1km at 5.4%), Van der Poel accelerated from the peloton in pursuit of the leaders, 2:40 ahead, sparking a reaction from Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who joined for the chase.
The leaders entered the finish circuit at 77km to go with 1:22 ahead of Van der Poel and Van Gils, and another 25 seconds to the main pack led by UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Soudal-QuickStep. Two full circuits included three passes of Denderoodberg (700 metres at 7.3%) and two ascents of Muur van Geraardsbergen (1.1km at 7.7%), Bosberg (600 metres at 8%) and Onkerzeleberg (1.3km at 4%).
After crossing Onkerzeleberg on the opening circuit with 50km to go, gaps were disappearing, and chase groups ebbed and flowed in numbers. When the bell rang for the final circuit and 33km remaining, 19 riders emerged at the front.
Immediately on the Muur, Van der Poel attacked. De Lie and Wellens grabbed his back wheel and formed a lead trio after passing the top, shredding the pack behind. Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana) joined forces with Stan DeWulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Bahrain Victorious duo Matej Mohorič and Fred Wright, 15 seconds back.
On the steepest section of the Bosberg, Van der Poel made another acceleration and grabbed bonus seconds at the top, as well as moving away from Wellens and De Lie. Behind in the five-rider chase, Mohorič slipped off the back to leave just four to make up 25 seconds with 28km to go.
By the base of the last climb up Onkerzeleberg, De Lie and Wellens made the catch of Van der Poel, while the foursome of Wright, Dewulf, Del Grosso and Bettiol clawed their way closer to have the trio in their sights. A third chase group trailed by over a minute.
A wide, smooth surface soon returned to the narrow Spring Classics lanes on the final approach to the Denderoordberg. With 14km to go, Del Grosso stopped for a bike change, and he became a solo chaser, quickly losing 15 seconds to his former group.
The lead trio remained aggressive with their pace and extended their lead to 33 seconds with 10km to go. Once on the final cobbled climb 4km later, Van der Poel set a fierce pace but did not drop his companions. Their gap moved out to 40 seconds to set up a three-rider clash on the Vesten.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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