The third and last stage of Tour of Yorkshire between Wakefield and Leeds was a mix of typical English weather. The 167 kilometer final stage wass considered to be the most difficult stage with no less than six categorized climbs.

Rasmus Quaade was part of the early break with 7 other riders. None of the riders was any threat to the GC and they quickly gained a lead close to five minutes.

The break split to pieces with Edet and Craddock going clear. Edet and Craddock briefly threatened to settle the stage between themselves with the gap a 4’45 and less than 50 kilometers to the finish. As Craddock held a slender lead Steve Cumming attacked from the peloton,  Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto NL- Jumbo) went with him. However the counter attack never gained more than a few seconds and Hermans attacked. This move stuck and he quickly caught Craddock, which led to the win.

“Today was not a bad day, except that Joel crashed pretty hard. The rest of the race went pretty good, most of the guys were still there on the final climb. It got a little too tough for Russell [Downing] and unfortunately we lost him. There were still around 20 riders left in the front group, and Gustav Larsson made an attack in the final but was caught soon after. Alex was still in the front group, ready for the sprint and finished in 7th place,” DS Luke Robers states to the Cult Pro Cycling website.

“Today was the hardest stage, the climbs wwere a lot longer than on the first stage and we were not sure if we could bring Russell to the final sprint.  Both Gustav and I were feeling alright so we would go ourselves if Russell was dropped. On the second last climb, BMC attacked and everyone was split apart and I was eventually dropped as well. I made it back with just 5 kilometers to go and I was ready for the sprint but my legs gave up at the 100 meters mark,” Alex Kirsch said.