Hayter wins his second time trial in three days and narrowly retakes the leader’s jersey in the Tour of Holland

The opening two stages in the Netherlands had already delivered plenty of excitement: the prologue was a real treat to watch, with its scenic nighttime course through The Hague. However, the disqualification of Jan-Willem van Schip and the temporary neutralization of the race (due to cars on the course) were unfortunate blemishes on the long-awaited return of this multi-day race to Dutch soil.

Still, the wins by Ethan Hayter and Tim Merlier deserved to stand out. The race continued with yet another time trial, this time 15 kilometers long instead of four. On the flat course around Etten-Leur, the pure time trial specialists naturally saw their opportunity. And there was no shortage of those on the start list.

One of the first out of the gate was Johan Price-Pejtersen, the former Danish champion from Alpecin-Deceuninck, who set the initial benchmark. But his time wasn’t particularly intimidating, as Daan Hoole, one of the top favorites, soon smashed it by nearly half a minute.

Jan Tratnik was the first to come close, but the Slovenian from Red Bull–BORA-hansgrohe fell seven seconds short. Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) also put in an excellent ride, finishing just nine seconds behind. It then took a while before anyone could threaten his time, but Christophe Laporte was flying, one second faster at the intermediate checkpoint.

By the finish line, the Frenchman had added nearly two more seconds to that margin: an outstanding performance that put him in the hot seat, dethroning the Dutch national champion. But his lead was far from secure, several top-tier time trialists were still to come, all posting times close to Laporte’s.

Alec Segaert (Lotto) and Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step) weren’t far off, but Ethan Hayter was three seconds faster than Laporte halfway through. Overall leader Jakob Söderqvist then came through the checkpoint, three seconds faster than the British champion. It was incredibly tight, and everything would come down to the final stretch.

Segaert crossed the line just one second short of taking the hot seat, but Hayter managed to overtake Kooij on the road during the 15-kilometer time trial and smashed the benchmark, finishing a full 15 seconds faster. Could Söderqvist hold him off? The answer was no: the Swede lost four seconds, allowing Hayter to reclaim the orange leader’s jersey.