Tinkoff-Saxo went to the front of the speeding bunch within the final ten kilometers of stage 3 in an attempt to position team sprinter Nikolay Trusov and potentially split the group. With only light winds, the attempt was neutralized, while Michael Mørkøv still managed to position Nikolay Trusov, who despite the efforts had to settle with 14th place behind stage winner Edward Theuns after a long sprint.

After the stage 3 conclusion, sports director Nicki Sørensen comments:

“The plan was that we should have gone to the front closer to the finish line than we did. But the guys felt that they had a bit of crosswind and therefore decided to move to the front and set a very high pace. It wasn’t possible and they should have waited some kilometers before they took the front. However, they rode as a team in a coordinated fashion and that is always positive”, says Nicki Sørensen.

Stage 3 from Blankenberge to Nieuwpoort presented the riders with 173.3km in Western Belgium. Although close to the sea, the wind remained absent making it difficult to improve Manuele Boaro’s GC position. The team instead turned its attention towards positioning Nikolay Trusov for the final sprint, which was ultimately won by Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen).

“There wasn’t adequate wind to make the difference today. We spent our energy a bit too early in trying to put Trusov into a good position but Michael Mørkøv still managed to lead him into a good position, which shows his experience. Trusov entered the final 1000 meters in 3rd position but the sprint became a bit too long for him and he had to settle with a minor position today as 14th. Tomorrow is hillier, harder but not extremely hard. The tactical situation could become interesting and we’ll now sit down and prepare our approach for this final day here at l’Eurométropole”, finishes Nicki Sørensen.