Saudi Tour: Dylan Groenewegen wins stage 3

Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco) won stage 3 of the Saudi Tour, beating Dan McLay (Arkéa-Samsic) and Caleb Ewan in a reduced bunch finish in AlUla Old Town. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) finished safely in the front group to retain the overall lead with two stages remaining.

The race splintered into echelons early on during a a windy day of racing, leaving a leading group of 50 or so riders to contest the finish. Nikki Terpstra (TotalEnergies) looked to take advantage of a brief moment of confusion in the front group when he delivered a smart attack inside the final 5km, but he was swept back up by a delegation from QuickStep-AlphaVinyl.

UAE Team Emirates initially led out the sprint for Fernando Gaviria before Luke Mezgec took up the reins on behalf of Groenewegen as the road climbed gently in the final 200m. The Slovenian’s lead-out was well judged, and Groenewegen surged through to hit the front, fending off McLay and a rapidly closing Ewan to claim his first victory since signing from Jumbo-Visma this winter.

Ewan was the fastest rider over the last 100 metres, but the Australian began his effort from too far back. Although he recouped ample ground within sight of the line, he was unable to get back on terms with Groenewegen and he was pipped to second place by McLay.

Although Ewan picked up a four-second time bonus for placing third on the stage, he remains second overall, three seconds behind Buitrago. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Soudal) is now third overall at 17 seconds, with Simone Consonni (Cofidis) fourth at 21 seconds.

The 181km stage was buffeted by strong winds and Buitrago was caught on the wrong side of an early split forced by QuickStep-AlphaVinyl. Following a hard-fought chase, the front two echelons merged into a leading group of 50 or so riders, and the Colombian will now enjoy another day in the leader’s jersey.

Shortly afterwards, Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Fenix), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) and Benjamin Declercq (Arkéa-Samsic) escaped from the front group, and the trio was granted a considerable degree of leeway, building a lead in excess of 3 minutes with 70km remaining.

Undeterred by a block headwind, Turgis later forged clear alone, amassing a buffer of 5 minutes before the chasers inexorably began to claw him back. The Frenchman’s resistance was finally snuffed out with 14km remaining, and it was clear that the sprinters would contest the day’s spoils.