Fast Aussie Liam Walsh surprises Soudal Quick-Step’s Lamperti in Czech Republic

Soudal Quick-Step had been the most successful team in the first two stages. Luke Lamperti won the opening day, followed by Junior Lecerf’s uphill victory on stage two, where he outsmarted the rest of the field. The Belgian benefited from the work of fellow countryman Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike), who was already looking forward to Sunday’s tough stage after the finish.

"The power is definitely there, and I feel positive about the coming days. Sunday's climb is much steeper, which is better for us. As a team, we’ve shown how strong we are on the climbs, so we’ll try to take revenge on Sunday," he said after the stage.

But first, Saturday’s flat stage ended in Ostrava. In the opening phase, Dominik Röber, Casper van den Woude, Loïc Bettendorff, Mateusz Kostanski, and Nicolo Garribo broke away from the peloton, which was being controlled by Soudal Quick-Step, XDS-Astana, and Visma | Lease a Bike.

There wasn’t much more to report, as the expected scenario played out with a bunch sprint in Ostrava. The GC teams also made their presence felt: Visma | Lease a Bike, for example, worked to keep Uijtdebroeks at the front.

At 400 meters from the line, a bend in the road proved crucial, as many teams had anticipated. Soudal Quick-Step came through it first, and Lamperti launched his sprint early, but Walsh had the better timing and surged past him to take the win.