He wanted to show his face yesterday, but yielded for teammate Lars Boom. In the third stage of the Tour de France, Lars Petter Nordhaug was in a position to attack and he did just that. Unfortunately for the Norwegian from the Belkin Pro Cycling Team, his lead group did not last to the finish in Calvi.

“After the missed opportunity yesterday, I wanted to attack today,” Nordhaug said. “I landed in a strong group together with Chavanel amongst others, but the headwind ultimately tempered our escape. Just as we were nearly reeled in, I made another go of it as you must fight on to the bitter end. You never know what will happen behind you.”

Meanwhile Belkin team leader Bauke Mollema has emerged unscathed from the opening triangle on Corsica and that was a big positive after three days on the island. “I am satisfied with how it went, because you can only loose the Tour here, not win it. Today was a hectic day but at the important junctures, we were in a good position up front.”

Unlike the previous years, Robert Gesink stars in an assisting cast at the Tour this year.

“It was on and off all day and since I am not riding for the classification here, I could save my energy on the last climb. My role is different than before and that means that I can be more relaxed on the bike although in the Tour, there’s never lack of excitement.”