BMC Racing Team's Greg Van Avermaet finished second for the third straight time at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Friday – and for the second time in three days to stage winner Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) – while holding onto second place overall and the XO Communications sprint jersey.

Avermaet attacked on the finishing climb in the shadow of the Utah state capitol building. But the planned lead-out from teammate Michael Schär at the end of the 54.8-kilometre race that comprised five laps of a circuit went askew when the Swiss road champion's back wheel hit a hole.

"It was really disappointing because my plan was to lead out Greg on the last climb," Schär said. "But I couldn't do it anymore because my back wheel was rubbing the brakes and I was too tired. So it was bad luck."

Van Avermaet, who won stage 1 against Matthews on Tuesday but lost stage 2 to him, could not hide his disappointment.

"When I saw the parcours this morning, I was really motivated to win," he said. "The plan was to make a gap, like the first day. We tried to do it, but if he (Matthews) is in my wheel, it's hard to beat him. I took my chance and tried to win another stage, so I'm disappointed today. It would have been nice to have another victory."

There was no change at the top of the overall standings as Lachlan Morton (Garmin-Sharp) kept the overall lead.