Team Giant-Shimano went the queen stage of the Tour of Britain knowing that it would be difficult to play an important role. As Albert Timmer was not feeling well, the team decided to recover for upcoming stages.

The third stage of the Tour of Britain did not present any immediate opportunities for the Team Giant-Shimano riders but it was a day they initially saw as one for Albert Timmer to test himself for the overall, with a tough final 5km climb of Tumble Mountain to finish.

Timmer was suffering from stomach problems early in the stage and as these continued during the race the team decided to save their energy for the stage opportunities to come.

The focal point of the third stage was the finishing climb of Tumble Mountain, and initial thoughts were for Timmer to test himself here in his bid to see how he could fare overall in the GC. However, after suffering from some stomach issues the morning before the stage and also during the race the riders decided to take it as easy as possible on the final climb and save their efforts for the days to come.

Marcel Kittel, Brian Bulgac and Tom Stamsnijder came home in a large group at 8’02″, with Tom Veelers and Timmer another two minutes behind them. Bert De Backer was the last of the team home, rolling over the line in the grupetto at 10’32″, safely within the time limit.

Team coach Marc Reef said after the stage: “The stage itself was quite a steady one for us. If Albert was feeling good then we were going to try something but he wasn’t and we just focused on saving as much energy as possible, thinking ahead to the opportunities to come.

“Everything worked fine in this respect and looking ahead the guys can look towards the breaks and also to some strong finishes in the days to come.”